The gelding showed early promise in National Hunt Flat races, winning twice and finishing third in an exceptionally strong renewal of the Champion Bumper.
He was sired by Bob Back, a racehorse whose best performance came when he recorded an upset win over Pebbles and Commanche Run in the 1985 Prince of Wales's Stakes.
During his racing career, he was owned in partnership by Nelius Hayes and Dermot Cox and was trained by Edward O'Grady at Ballynonty, County Tipperary.
Starting the 100/30 second favourite in a fifteen-runner field he won by a short head from the mare Wild Dream, with the pair finishing eighteen lengths clear of the other runners.
He briefly took the lead inside the last quarter mile before finishing third to Pizarro and Rhinestone Cowboy with Thisthatandtother in fourth and Iris's Gift fifth of the twenty-three runners.
[9] On his final appearance of the season, he ran very poorly in the Champion INH Flat Race at Punchestown Racecourse in April, finishing tailed off in last place.
The gelding was dropped in class for a maiden hurdle at Leopardstown Racecourse in January and won by three quarters of a length from the Willie Mullins-trained Arch Stanton, to whom he was conceding four pounds.
[11] Back In Front made his second visit to the Cheltenham Festival in 2003 when he was one of nineteen runners for the Grade I Supreme Novices' Hurdle on 11 March.
[12] The win for the Irish-trained favourite in the opening race of the meeting was enthusiastically received by the huge crowd, and security staff were unable to prevent the horse being surrounded by celebrating supporters as he returned to the winner's enclosure.
Back In Front's first run of the 2003/2004 season came in the Grade I John James McManus Memorial Hurdle over two miles at Tipperary Racecourse on 5 October.
Starting the 4/5 favourite, he looked beaten early in the straight, but stayed on strongly to take the lead after the last hurdle and won by one and a half lengths from Sacundai and Solerina.
Ridden by the leading flat jockey Jamie Spencer, he went clear off his rivals in the final furlong and won by three and a half lengths from the three-year-old filly Akilana.
Back In Front was sent to England in the following month when he faced the leading British hurdlers Rooster Booster and Inglis Drever in the Bula Hurdle at Cheltenham.
[20] At the 2005 Cheltenham Festival Back In Front started 7/2 joint-favourite with Hardy Eustace for the Champion Hurdle, in a strong field which also included Macs Joy, Harchibald, Brave Inca, Intersky Falcon, Al Eile and Rooster Booster.
On his only other start of the season he finished fifth of the six runners when favourite for the Ellier Developments Novice Chase at Punchestown in April after making several jumping errors.