Brighterdaysahead set to end Constitution Hill’s streak in Champion Hurdle
Sam Ewing celebrates on Brighterdaysahead, along with groom Sinéad O’Brien, after winning the Neville Hotels Hurdle on day four of the Leopardstown Christmas Festival at Leopardstown last December. Photo: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile
I’ve mentioned before on these pages that my first proper bet as an adult, that is one that would sting badly if it lost, was on Istabraq in the 1998 Champion Hurdle.
At 3/1, my £70 wager, saved from a part-time supermarket job, returned £280, stake included – a fortune back then. As a naive 17-year-old, I thought I’d cracked the code and been handed the keys to the betting castle.