| 69th Champion Hurdle | |
| Horse Race: | Champion Hurdle |
| Location: | Cheltenham Racecourse |
| Date: | 17 March 1998 |
| Winning Horse: | Istabraq (IRE) |
| Winning Jockey: | Charlie Swan |
| Winning Trainer: | Aidan O'Brien (IRE) |
| Winning Owner: | J. P. McManus |
| Previous: | 1997 |
| Next: | 1999 |
The 1998 Champion Hurdle was a horse race held at Cheltenham Racecourse on Tuesday 17 March 1998. It was the 69th running of the Champion Hurdle.
The winner was J. P. McManus's Istabraq, a six-year-old gelding trained in Ireland by Aidan O'Brien and ridden by Charlie Swan.
Istabraq started the 3/1 favourite and won by twelve lengths from his stable companion Theatreworld, who had finished second to Make A Stand in the previous year, with I'm Supposin in third place. There were no previous Champion Hurdlers in the field but the other runners included Pridwell, Relkeel and Dato Star. The strongly-fancied Shadow Leader was fatally injured in a fall at the final hurdle. Fifteen of the eighteen runners completed the course.[1]
| Pos. | Marg. | Horse (bred) | Age | Jockey | Trainer (Country) | Odds | |
| 1 | Istabraq (IRE) | 6 | Charlie Swan | Aidan O'Brien (IRE) | 3/1 fav | ||
| 2 | 12 | Theatreworld (IRE) | 6 | Tommy Treacy | Aidan O'Brien (IRE) | 20/1 | |
| 3 | 1 | I'm Supposin (IRE) | 6 | Richard Dunwoody | Richard Rowe (GB) | 6/1 | |
| 4 | 1¼ | Pridwell (GB) | 8 | A. P. McCoy | Martin Pipe (GB) | 9/1 | |
| 5 | 4 | Kerawi (GB) | 5 | Carl Llewellyn | Nigel Twiston-Davies (GB) | 25/1 | |
| 6 | 1¼ | Mistinguett (IRE) | 6 | Chris Maude | Nigel Twiston-Davies (GB) | 40/1 | |
| 7 | nk | Shooting Light (IRE) | 5 | Rodney Farrant | Pat Murphy (GB) | 66/1 | |
| 8 | 3 | Graphic Equaliser (IRE) | 6 | Paul Carberry | Arthur Moore (IRE) | 33/1 | |
| 9 | 2½ | Relkeel (GB) | 9 | Adrian Maguire | David Nicholson (GB) | 14/1 | |
| 10 | 1¾ | Cadougold (FR) | 7 | Mick Fitzgerald | Martin Pipe (GB) | 25/1 | |
| 11 | 3 | Marello (GB) | 7 | Peter Niven | Mary Reveley (GB) | 20/1 | |
| 12 | 5 | Sanmartino (IRE) | 6 | Richard Johnson | David Nicholson (GB) | 20/1 | |
| 13 | nk | Dato Star (IRE) | 7 | Eddie Callaghan | Malcolm Jefferson (GB) | 6/1 | |
| 14 | 8 | Grimes (GB) | 5 | Conor O'Dwyer | Christy Roche (IRE) | 12/1 | |
| 15 | nk | Lady Daisy (IRE) | 9 | Jason Titley | Anthony Mullins (IRE) | 100/1 | |
| UR | Bellator (GB) | 5 | Barry Fenton | Toby Balding (GB) | 100/1 | ||
| PU | Red Blazer (GB) | 7 | Jim Culloty | Henrietta Knight (GB) | 33/1 | ||
| Fell | Shadow Leader (GB) | 7 | Norman Williamson | Charles Egerton (GB) | 13/2 |
Further details of the winner, Istabraq