This is what I sent over and think it was pretty much inchanged bar I asked them afterwards to put in a small piece on Matt O'Connor.
"There was no fanfare, no standing ovation, just a lone group in the stand clapping him home. As Brave Inca passed the Punchestown winning post on a glorious afternoon, the realisation dawned on us that we had reached the end of one of the greatest journeys we will make, one that started eight years earlier. Standing in the parade ring immediately after the race, it was clear to his owners and Colm that Brave Inca was calling it a day on his own terms and leaving this racing lark to the young bucks. And who could blame him after his Muhammed Ali like comeback to the top of his game at Leopardstown in January.
Of course back in 2001, we were just hoping to buy a horse that could win something, anything. This would be the first horse for the Novices syndicate and we were looking for a young, eager and cheap trainer. We got in contact with Colm Murphy through family connections with his brother and were impressed by his fledgling training operation and his eye for a good horse. Armed with a paltry £10,000 (old Irish punts) we descended on the Goffs Land Rover sales in June 2001. The Celtic Tiger drove prices higher as the day went on until lot 242 of 250, a fine stamp of a horse by Good Thyne but with little else on the page. As Colm had a look it was clear this gelding was giving his handler a rough time, pulling at the reins and rearing up on his hind legs. But there was something about him that Colm liked, a fire in his belly. At £10,000 we agreed between ourselves to go to £12,000. No joy, I turned away. The hammer went down at £14,500. It took a minute for a shell shocked Ciaran to confirm it was his bid!! We had our horse and he was number seven into Colm’s yard.
Known simply as “the horse” when he went into training; we naturally started to think about a name for our new star. His mother is Wigwam Mam, an unraced daughter of Commanche Run, and a childhood fascination with North American history naturally led us to think of “Indian Brave” or “Brave Indian”. But it just didn’t sound right and following much head scratching and my overwhelming desire to do the Inca trail, we decided to change history and borders and rename the Indian, Inca. So was born, Brave Inca.
From the outset, Brave Inca didn’t give the impression he had much ability, probably due to the fact he only ever did what he had to at home. Indeed Colm went so far as to say “he’s no Istabraq”. After a couple of disappointing efforts when his best placing was a distant eighth to Kicking King, he was given a break to develop physically and dropped back to bumpers to bolster his confidence after a poor display of jumping on his previous start. He won the first on desperate ground by 20 lengths and followed up in a winners bumper, ridden both times by PJ Colville.
At the start of the next season we thought we would be handicap hurdling in preparation for his chasing career the season after. Following two victories in handicap hurdles before Christmas, we could have taken the easier handicap option in early February but we thought we’d adopt the Clive Brittain approach of tilting at windmills and Brave Inca took his place in the Deloitte Novice Hurdle. Leopardstown is the syndicate’s local track and this was his first grade one and boy did we celebrate that win, a first taste of the champagne lifestyle of grade one ownership. Magic.
Owning a horse is about enjoying the experience and if it pays its way, even better. The syndicate received plenty of offers for Brave Inca but we were united in out refusal of these. Cheltenham is a real theatre of dreams and just to be there with a runner would provide such a buzz for the syndicate. Colm had him in tip top shape and his preparation was flawless. The ding dong finish with War of Attrition pushed us all to the edge. To win at Cheltenham is “unreal”, to quote Colm, and it makes you hungry for more! By the time Brave Inca got to Punchestown that year, he was over the top and running on ground a little too quick for him. Others would have flinched at the task and called it a day after a long season, but not Inca. Another victory in another photo finish which would prove his favourite party trick.
We always looked forward to the day he would jump a fence and he schooled in the yard before he went out for his Summer grass. We wanted to be there for his schooling and he jumped like a natural. Colm never had any doubts he would jump a fence.
The following season was our annus horribilis, by his very high standards. We met Mac’s Joy for the first time and Brave Inca lost out to him three times that season, including a short head defeat in the Irish Champion Hurdle. Each time Brave Inca ran he was improving and we went to Cheltenham with great hope. In hindsight, he might have been a little short as he takes plenty of work through the season. In a nail biting finish he was just run out of it by Hardy Eustace and Harchibald but we were still delighted as it was his first season in the senior ranks. It was at this Cheltenham Festival that we struck up a comeradery with Lar Byrne, owner of Hardy Eustace, and both owners respected the other’s charge.
He was in such good form after it that the Aintree hurdle was a natural target. Unfortunately, Brave Inca and Barry had a difference of opinion at the first in the straight and Brave Inca came down. Thankfully, he was fine although there was a very sombre mood in John Lennon airport that night. The syndicate and Colm made the tough decision to replace Barry with the best available for the Punchestown Champion Hurdle, Tony McCoy. It was Tony’s decision to kick on from the front, a tactic that proved highly successful the following year, and he gave him the perfect ride and got some revenge on Harchibald and Macs Joy.
Tony McCoy was adamant he would win the Champion Hurdle the following year and who were we to argue with the Champ. They truly were cast from the same block with a desire and drive to succeed. His Champion Hurdle winning season was almost flawless, failing to beat Solerina on her favourite track but following up with the Christmas Hurdle, the Irish Champion and the English Champion Hurdle. It was a fabulous training performance as he was very nearly over the top by the time he reached Cheltenham and the first time I saw him sweat before a race. Any win at Cheltenham is special but to be the best hurdler of the year is even sweeter.
Trying to retain his crown was always going to be difficult and during the 2006/7 season we used Ruby Walsh when Tony McCoy was not available. Brave Inca always travelled very well for Ruby and they lifted another Christmas Hurdle. However, he was probably beginning to feel his injured tendon when he was beaten in the Irish and English Champion Hurdles, although each time he looked like he would win turning in. The injury was not too severe, maybe 5% damage. He received the best treatment available and the decision to return was left solely to Colm.
This season was always going to be a shot in the dark with Brave Inca. He was ten rising eleven and was beginning to develop some back trouble and other little niggles. Colm and his team have done a superb job over the years with constant massaging of his muscles and back. There was plenty of trepidation on his first outing in the Hattons Grace and it was fabulous to see the old boy return in such good shape. The crowd certainly appreciated his return. The ground was just a little quick at Christmas and the pace too slow when finishing third to Sublimity and Ruby gave us a strong indication that he would win the Irish Champion with more pace in the race. We were grateful to Colm and the owners for putting Swiftmarc and Allez Petit Luis, Brave Inca’s sparring partner in the field at home, in the race as pacemakers and it made all the difference in giving him a lead. In these times of doom and gloom I think racegoers really appreciated the comeback of a nation’s favourite and for me anyway, it was the pinnacle of his career.
Standing at the wrong end of the Cheltenham and Punchestown parade rings allows plenty of time to reflect on his superb career. Brave Inca has been more than just a horse to the syndicate, Colm and his staff, he’s a family member. The syndicate would like to thank all those that contributed their time and efforts to making him the champion he is. He has inspired many others to follow in our footsteps and live the dream of racehorse ownership. At these retirement events, it’s normal to offer a parting gift. While I doubt a carriage clock would be appreciated by Brave Inca, polos are always welcome at his home in Killena and are likely to last only a few minutes."
