ISTABRAQ FINE AFTER FALL Aidan O`Brien today reported Istabraq none the worse for his fall at Leopardstown on Sunday, but will not make firm plans for the horse`s next race just yet. The three-time Smurfit Champion Hurdle winner came to grief at the final flight of the A.I.B Agri-Business December Festival Hurdle, the first time in 25 races he has failed to complete the course. Connections will decide later in the week whether the nine-year-old will prepare for Cheltenham at Leopardstown on January 21st. 'There is not a bother on Istabraq,' his trainer said today. 'He had a walk and a trot and was fine, which is a big relief. 'We will leave it a few days but if he has another run before the Champion Hurdle it will probably be in the AIG Europe Champion Hurdle back at Leopardstown.' Istabraq`s regular rider Charlie Swan believes the heavy ground at Leopardstown was a contributing factor towards the spill. 'I`m sure we wouldn`t run him on that sort of ground again,' he told Channel 4 Racing. 'We always said one day he could take a chance at one, he once took a chance at Fairyhouse on soft ground. 'He`s a brilliant jumper but on soft ground he can just be a little bit brave and every hurdle yesterday he was standing out. 'It was the first one he met wrong. He stood out, changed his mind in mid-air and just put down.'
