The Greatest Irish Champion Hurdle Horses of All Time Ranked – From Istabraq to Dawn Run

Ahead of the 2026 Dublin Racing Festival, we’re taking a look back at some of the best Irish Champion Hurdle winners and have ranked our top six.

There will be a new name on the trophy this weekend, with leading mares Lossiemouth and Brighterdayshead dominating the early betting for Sunday’s Leopardstown showdown, but here are our favourite former victors.

BOYLE Sports' Brian O'Keeffe was joined by our Horse Racing Ambassadors Robbie Power, Bryan Cooper, and John 'Shark' Hanlon in our brand new studio to get their thoughts on the 2026 Irish Champion Hurdle and all the Dublin Racing Festival action at Leopardstown this weekend.

Without further ado, here is our definitive ranking of the greatest Irish Champion Hurdle-winning horses to ever grace Leopardstown Racecourse.

Irish Champion Hurdle Winning Horses Ranked

6. Dawn Run

6. Dawn Run (1984)

Paddy Mullins’ wonder mare actually gave weight away to her male rivals when comfortably scoring by five lengths from Boreen Prince before going on to also claim Cheltenham and French Champion Hurdle victories.

Dawn Run could no doubt have dominated the division for years to come but instead switched to chasing, a move which ultimately paid dividends with an iconic Gold Cup success.

5. State Man

5. State Man (2023, 2024 & 2025)

Until suffering a tendon injury in November, the Willie Mullins-trained warrior had danced every dance and been a model of consistency, rattling off a dozen Grade One wins and only being denied another by a last-flight fall when five lengths clear at Cheltenham last term.

There aren’t many thrills about the way State Man goes about his business, which has led to him being slightly underappreciated, but this professional performer impressively ended Honeysuckle’s Irish Champion Hurdle reign in 2023 and gave his supporters little cause for concern in completing a hat-trick of victories here.

Brave Inca

4. Brave Inca (2006 & 2009)

Alongside regular foes Hardy Eustace, Macs Joy and Harchibald, Colm Murphy’s battler starred in a vintage era for this division and bagged a brace of Irish Champion Hurdle triumphs among his 10 Grade One wins.

After Macs Joy had shaded him by a short-head in 2005, Brave Inca gained revenge over that rival here 12 months later before going on to beat him again at Cheltenham that season – and he incredibly returned to Leopardstown for a last hurrah as an 11-year-old in 2009.

Honeysuckle

3. Honeysuckle (2020, 2021 & 2022)

Henry de Bromhead’s magnificent mare and ever-present pilot Rachael Blackmore provided racegoers with a whole host of memorable moments, including victories at four straight Cheltenham Festivals.

Honeysuckle had to work hard to see off outsider Darver Star for her first Irish Champion Hurdle success but dominated the opposition in the next two renewals before being denied a four-timer by State Man when possibly just lacking a little bit of her past sparkle.

Hurricane Fly

2. Hurricane Fly (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 & 2015)

The son of Montjeu absolutely loved Leopardstown, where his Flat speed came to the fore and he was unbeaten in 10 outings, all at Grade One level.

Invariably allowed to cruise around in a handy position before darting to the front between the final two hurdles, Hurricane Fly would then simply sprint up the run-in to huge roars of applause from his army of doting fans.

Despite finding Cheltenham’s undulations a trickier proposition, he still managed to prevail there in 2011 and 2013.

1. Istabraq (1998, 1999, 2000 & 2001)

Hurricane Fly couldn’t have done any more to win over the hearts of racing supporters, but Istabraq still holds sway as the undisputed number one.

Hailed as “the horse of a lifetime” by trainer Aidan O’Brien, he won 23 of his 29 races over obstacles and added three Cheltenham Champion Hurdle triumphs to his fantastic four-timer in the Irish equivalent.

Bred to be a star on the Flat, the son of Saddler’s Wells was blessed with a high cruising speed and a blistering turn of foot, while regular rider Charlie Swan also beamed: “His jumping was so good – he was so quick to get his front legs out and was very accurate.”

It was a lethal combination which helped Istabraq to land a series of effortless-looking wins around Leopardstown.

Enjoy this stroll through memory lane? Then you’ll want to check out our Ranking of the Greatest Irish Gold Cup winners.

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