ultimate grand national guide

The Ultimate Grand National Guide 2 of 35

Table Of Contents

3-4 Introduction

5-10 History Of !e Grand National

11-17 Legends

18-23 Aintree Racecourse

24-25 Picking A Winner

26-28 Famous Horses

29-33 Jockeys

34 Infographic

!e Ultimate Grand National GuideBy Andrew Height

Acknowledgements and Credits !e author is very appreciative for the many contributions that people have made to this book

and would like to thank the following

http://www.grand-national.me.uk/http://www."ickr.com/photos/66364316@N03/

http://www.grand-national.me.uk/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66364316@N03/


good measure. It’s the highlight of the National Hunt season and the ultimate test of horse and jockey with many failing to complete the course and only a very few going on to make racing history.

But what of its story, the horses, jockeys, and trainers that over the years have made this race the one that everybody wants to win? !ere are certainly some exciting, strange and sometimes funny tales to tell. !en

With prize money of almost a million pounds it’s the most famous steeplechase in the world, the one big race that everybody from granny to Her Majesty the Queen has a "utter on. Steeped in history, spectacle and drama, horse racing doesn’t get much more exciting than !e Grand National. !e race is known for its thrills and spills, and over the years has seen its fair share of tragedies and triumphs.

Held annually at the Aintree racecourse in Liverpool the four-and-a-half mile race is a marathon in racing terms. !e forty runners circuit the course twice, jumping thirty fences, many measuring more than seven feet high, with ditches and water jumps thrown in for

INTRODUCTION TO THE GRAND NATIONAL

of course there’s the race itself; Aintree, the course, the fences, and just who do you bet on?

In this book we take a look at the race’s history, from the very #rst National in 1839, through the troubled years after World War II, to its near demise in the seventies. We look at its more recent comeback and re-emergence as one of Britain’s most eagerly anticipated sporting events. It’s a fascinating tale of heroes, legends and bravery. A story steeped in determination, luck and the will to win.

"It's�� a�� fascinating�� tale�� of�� heroes,�� legends�� and�� bravery"


at some of the high and low points of the course. We’ll even take you fence by fence around the world’s greatest jump race with all the challenges and potential dangers that come with it.

Of course, picking the winner is really what it’s all about, and whilst some might just pick a name or stick a pin in the runner’s list, there are other ways to make sure that you have the best chance on the biggest day in

We’ll recount tales of the Iron Duke; and why the 1967 National winner had a fence named after him. You’ll discover which famous author rode the unluckiest loser in the history of the race and who was the three-time winner trained on the beach at Southport.

You’ll learn about the all-time great trainers and jockeys and the almost unbelievable lengths they’ve gone and will go to produce and ride a winner. We’ll explain just what it takes to become a Grand National winning jockey and what’s involved in taking on one of the toughest races in the world.

Join us on a whistle-stop tour of Aintree and take look

INTRODUCTION TO THE GRAND NATIONAL

the racing calendar. We’ll help you understand what the odds mean, the types of bets to place, and give you some hot tips on just how to pick that National winning horse.

!e story of !e Grand National is a continuing one. Each year some new story unfurls, a new champion emerges. It’s so packed with drama that you simply couldn’t make it up. We hope that you enjoy reading about the winners and losers, triumphs and tragedies and that this book helps you understand more about what the National is and why the British public hold it so dear in their hearts.

"It's�� so�� packed�� with�� drama�� that�� you�� simply�� couldn't�� make�� it�� up"


roughly ploughed land, and race to a #nal #nish over hurdles.

In the early 1840’s Lynn became ill and couldn’t continue the work he had started. Fortunately another member of his original syndicate, Edward Topham, stepped into the breech and took over where Lynn had left off. Topham was a respected handicapper and was responsible for turning the National into a handicap in 1843. In 1848 Topham took over the lease of Aintree, becoming Clerk of the Course, and a little over a hundred years later the Topham family bought the course outright.

It takes a visionary to build a legend like the Grand National. When William Lynn, owner of Liverpool’s Waterloo Hotel, formed a syndicate of wealthy horse racing enthusiasts he couldn’t have known that he was laying the foundation for the world’s greatest jump race. Leasing some land at Aintree from Lord Sefton, he immediately started setting out a course and erecting a

wooden grandstand. !e course opened in February 1829 and the #rst race, the one and a quarter mile Croxteth Stakes "at race, was held #ve months later in July.

Soon crowds of up to 40,000 people were "ocking to Aintree’s three meetings a year. But it wasn’t until 1835 that the #rst jump #xture took place and it took a further four years before a horse called Lottery became the #rst winner of the Grand Liverpool Steeplechase. !at race took place on Tuesday, February 26, 1839, and went on to become known as !e Grand National. Back then the course was quite different. It required the horses to jump a high stone wall, cross a stretch of

1856 and George Stevens, the most successful jockey in the history of the race with #ve wins, gained his #rst triumph on Freetrader. He later followed up on Emblem in 1863, Emblematic in 1864 and !e Colonel in 1869 and again in 1870

In 1883 there were only 10 runners in the National, the smallest in its history. In the same race Zoedone recorded one of the slowest ever winning times with 11 minutes and 39 seconds.

!e 1905 winner, Kirkland, became the only winner to date to be trained in Wales.

The�� Early�� Years

THE HISTORY OF THE GRAND NATIONAL


Billy Barton led the #eld until he too fell. Although Billy Barton's jockey managed to remount and eventually complete the race, it was Tipperary Tim who came in #rst with outside odds of 100/1.

!e 1929 National featured the most starters ever, when 66 horses lined up to start the race. It was won by outsider Grengalach with odds of 100/1 for the second year running.

In 1934 the legendary Golden Millar became the only horse to win the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup in the same season.

For three years during the First World War, the War Office took over Aintree and an alternative race was run at Gatwick Racecourse.

Gatwick was a disused course at the time and later went on to become Gatwick Airport. !e #rst of these races, in 1916, was called the Racecourse Association Steeple Chase. Not everybody recognises these three races as Grand Nationals, mainly because they were not run at

Aintree and they are sometimes omitted from Grand National lists.

After the end of First World War the National returned to Aintree. It continued to be an on-course spectator event until 1927. !at was the year that Ted Leader rode Sprig to a winning #nish in the #rst Grand National to be broadcast on the radio by the recently founded British Broadcasting Corporation.

On the day of the 1928 Grand National, 41 of the 42 starters fell during the race. By the penultimate fence there were only three runners standing, with Great Span looking most likely to win ahead of Billy Barton and Tipperary Tim. When Great Span's saddle slipped,

1938 saw American horse Battleship ridden home by the youngest ever jockey to win the National. Bruce Hobbs was just 17 and Battleship, whose father was the legendary Man O’War, became the only horse to win the National at Aintree and the American Grand National.

During the Second World War, between 1941 and 1945, the National was called off as Aintree became a US military camp and home for sixteen thousand troops. For those #ve years the National racecourse became a huge parking lot for military vehicles and the stables makeshift garages.

The�� War�� Years



installed when a motor-racing circuit was constructed. It hosted a European Grand Prix, #ve British Grand Prix and circled the Grand National track. It was the heyday of British motor racing; Stirling Moss won his #rst Grand Prix at Aintree in 1955 and won again in 1957 and 1959. !e 1961 British Grand Prix was won by Wolfgang von Trips and the legendary Jim Clark won the #nal Grand Prix to be held at Aintree in 1962.

Whilst all this was happening the Grand National was being dominated by Vincent O'Brien who trained three different National winners for three consecutive years. Early Mist romped home for O'Brien in 1953, Royal Tan in 1954, and Quare Times gave the Irish trainer a third National win in 1955.

When the National recommenced in 1946 Lovely Cottage became the 100th Grand National winner at Aintree. Four years later, in 1950 the late Queen Mother had her $rst ever runner in the race when Monaveen $nished $fth behind Freebooter.

But even with renewed royal interest, Aintree, like many other racecourses, suffered lean times during the post-war

years despite investment by the Topham family who now owned it.

It was Mrs Mirabel Topham who brought the course into the modern world. Mirabel was Tophams’ chairman, but before joining the board in 1934 she had been a well known actress. Always with her #nger on the pulse, Mirabel built a new course within the established Grand National course, naming it after Lord Mildmay who was a personal friend and great supporter of the Grand National. Opening in 1953, the smaller Mildmay Course continues to stage races over conventional fences and hurdles to this day.

!e following year another of Mirabel’s innovations was

But despite Mirabel Topham’s entrepreneurial innovation, and the "eeting interest caused by O’Briens’ earlier hat-trick, it was #nally announced in 1965 after much rumour that the course would be sold to a property developer. !is led to one of the longest periods of uncertainty in the history of British horse racing.

!at uncertainty turned to concern in 1967. A horri#c pile-up at the 23rd saw John Buckingham, and complete outsider Foinavon, managing to just avoid disaster and gallop home to a 100/1 runaway win. Televised live by the BBC, the terrible spectacle of so many horses falling could only add to the growing public feeling that the Grand National’s days were numbered.

The�� Post�� War�� Years



It was certainly touch and go for the National in the seventies, but thanks to Ladbroke’s management, and despite the recession, the race continued to produce some really great moments.

1974 saw Grand National character the Duke of Alburquerque, the worst jockey in racing history, completing the course for his #rst and only time after numerous attempts which began in 1952. He came in on Nereo in eighth place, a long way behind winner Red

With endless speculation about the future of the race, every year brought warnings that this would be ‘the last Grand National’.

!en in 1973 speculation became reality when Aintree racecourse was #nally sold to property developer Bill Davies. He vowed to keep the race going, but when Davies trebled admission prices many race fans were priced out of attending the action and reverted to

television and radio coverage instead. !e attendance at the 1975 Grand National, won by L’Escargot, was the smallest in living memory.

It had been a long time coming, but it seemed that the great race had #nally reached its lowest ebb. Maybe the rumours about ‘the last Grand National’ were about to come true. !en late in 1975 Ladbrokes the bookmakers stepped in and signed an agreement with Davies which allowed them to manage the race. At the time many condemned the move as bookies protecting their own interests. !e reality was somewhat different. As part of the professional racing community Ladbrokes, like everyone else, had a genuine love for the race and were determined to keep the Grand National alive.

Rum, despite breaking his collarbone only a week before the race.

!e seventies were full of the legendary Red Rum; he won in 1973 and 1974. !en in 1977 ‘Rummy’ rewrote the record books with a historic third victory. He also managed to come home second in 1975 and 1976 producing a #ve year run like no other before or since.

At the tail-end of the seventies, in 1979, Rubstic made history when he became the #rst Scottish-trained National winner. On his return to his stables in Roxburghshire, he was welcomed home by a piper leading him through the tiny Scottish hamlet of Denholm.

Decline�� In�� The�� Seventies


"The�� 1975�� race�� had�� thelowest�� attendance�� in�� living�� memory�� "


Finally the course could be purchased from Bill Davies and the future of the Grand National seemed assured.

It was the in eighties that women began to come to the forefront of this once male dominated race. Geraldine Rees became the #rst woman to complete the course riding Cheers, and in 1983 Corbiere’s trainer, Jenny Pitman, became the #rst woman to train a National winner.

Having managed the Grand National admirably for seven years, Ladbrokes were happy to continue their association with the race. Bill Davies had other ideas though, and in 1982 announced that he was determined to sell Aintree.

It was a wake up call for both the racing world and the public who, after so many years of procrastination, at last

realised that Becher’s Brook could soon be covered by a housing estate.

It was clear to everyone that something radical had to be done. As Dick Saunders became the oldest National winning jockey at 48 on Grittar, the Grand National Appeal was launched in an attempt to secure the safety of the race once and for all. A new contract was drawn up between Davies and the Jockey Club who immediately started fundraising to buy the course. !e public gave generously but only managed to raise £4 million, a second appeal was launched, but time was running out. !en at the eleventh hour, in 1984, Seagram Distillers stepped in and agreed to sponsor the race.

Seagram sponsored the race throughout the eighties, managed and run by Jockey Club Racecourses. When Seagram stopped sponsorship in 1991 Martell Cognac, a subsidiary of Seagram, took over from them in an almost seamless handover.

Rescue�� In�� The�� Eighties


"Becher's�� Brook�� could�� soon�� be�� coveredby�� a�� housing�� estate"


the cognac maker in 2001, said that they had ‘other priorities’. But the year wasn’t all bad. 2004 also saw Red Rum’s legendary trainer win the National one last time

when 12-year-old Amberleigh House came home number one for Ginger.

2005, and the Grand National turned yet another page in the course’s chequered history book. John Smith’s, a subsidiary of Scottish & Newcastle, stepped in as sponsor and immediately increased the prize money sevenfold from £100,000 to £700,000, then £800,000, and #nally just

With ownership of Aintree secured, and a more stable future for the National, nobody expected the events of 1993. In what has come to be known as ‘the darkest day in the history of the National’, chaos ensued when, in a second false start, 30 out of 39 jockeys began the race despite a false start being declared.

!is led to a void result for the seven horses that #nished

and John White, who passed the post #rst on Esha Ness, had his National win discounted in the National that never was.

In 1997 an IRA bomb threat caused the race to be postponed for two days when Aintree was completely evacuated just an hour before the race was due to start. !e Grand National was quickly rescheduled and took place on the following Monday at the unusual time of 5pm. !e winning horse Lord Gyllene, ridden by Tony Dobbin, romped home in spectacular style with a 25 length victory.

!ings looked gloomy for the National again when, in 2003, Martell Cognac announced that it would not be continuing its sponsorship of the National beyond 2004. Martell’s parent company Pernod Ricard, who had bought

£25,000 short of a million pounds, making the National the highest-valued National Hunt race in Britain.

Unfortunately in 2012 John Smith’s announced that 2013 would be the #nal year of their sponsorship. 2013 is also the #rst year that Channel 4 will broadcast the race instead of the BBC. Many feel that that the move to Channel 4, with the likelihood that reduced viewing #gures will hit branding exposure, was a big factor in John Smith’s decision to pull out.

So, what next for the Grand National? With Two World Wars, property developers, the IRA, sponsorship deals; it seems that nothing can stop the National for long. With its 175th anniversary year just around the corner the Grand National seems set to make history for many years to come.

The�� Naughty�� Nineties�� &�� Beyond


"John�� White�� on�� Esher�� Ness�� wins�� the�� National�� that�� never�� was"


places, makes him perhaps the National’s greatest horse racing phenomenon ever.

Rummie, as he was known to an adoring public, #rst won the race in 1973 after managing to fend off the Australian horse Crisp. !e following year Red Rum

won again, beating L’Escarcot. !e tables were turned in 1975 when double Gold Cup winner L'Escargot beat Red Rum into second place. 1976 saw Red Rum come

It wouldn’t be possible to talk about the history of the Grand National without mentioning the racing legends that were Red Rum and his trainer Ginger McCain. In the early seventies the Irish-born horse produced the $rst of three victories that would earn him a place in the racing record books for ever.

To this day he remains the only horse to have won the National three times and this, along with two second

in a close second to Rag Trade. !en in 1977 Rummie gave an astonishing performance romping home to win by 25 lengths and becoming a legend in the process.

!ere’s little doubt that Red Rum’s partnership with Ginger had a special magic. But Rummie wasn’t always the winner that he went on to become. Originally bought as a yearling in 1966 for 400 guineas, he passed through a number of training yards before Ginger bought him for Noel le Mare. !en, just two days after buying Red Rum for 6,000 guineas and whilst exercising the horse on Southport beach, McCain noticed that Red Rum seemed lame. !e horse was suffering from an in"ammatory bone disorder called pedal osteitis.

Red�� Rum�� &�� Ginger�� McCain

GRAND NATIONAL LEGENDS

"It�� looked�� like�� Rummy�� was�� finished�� almost�� before�� he'd�� began"


!ere was nothing else for it; Ginger was forced to retire Red Rum and with it went any hope of an unprecedented fourth win.

Red Rum #nished his career with a record that included three Flat race wins, three Hurdle race wins and 21 Steeplechase wins. He died aged 30 in 1995 and was buried with his head facing the winning post at Aintree. His grave is marked with an engraved stone that lists his

It looked like Rummy was #nished almost before he’d begun. Never one to give up easily, Ginger treated Red Rum by galloping him in the salty water of the Irish Sea. !e treatment worked and the rest is racing history.

With three wins behind him, Ginger was training Red Rum for a sixth attempt right up until the morning before the 1978 Grand National. Rummie had run well all season, coming second twice over #ve races. But, after his training session on the day before the big race, a hairline fracture caused Red Rum to become lame.

astounding Grand National record and a life-size bronze statue, created by former jockey Philip Blacker, was erected in 1988.

Ginger McCain died peacefully at home on September 19th, 2011, just two days before he would have celebrated his 81st birthday.

Recently Ginger and Rummy have been reunited at the scene of their most famous victories. A bust of Ginger McCain was unveiled before the 2012 National, it overlooks the parade at Aintree just a few hundred yards from the statue of Red Rum.

Red�� Rum�� &�� Ginger�� McCain


"They�� say�� I'm�� a�� one-horse�� trainerbut�� didn't�� I�� make�� a�� good�� job�� of�� it?"


At the start of the race the horses took off at a tremendous pace, leaving Foinavon well behind the leaders. Much of the early race went without incident with 28 of the 44 runners safely clearing the 22nd fence. Popham Down had unseated his rider at the #rst but had continued to run rider-less. !en at the 23rd, with Popham Down running wildly ahead of the leading horses, the horse ran in front of the pack as they were

about to jump and caused a huge pile-up as one horse fell after another.

Way back in the #eld John Buckingham could see the

chaos up ahead and skilfully manoeuvred Foinavon around the pile up. He just managed to jump the fence cleanly and then rode on. With thirty lengths clear, and unable to believe what was happening, Buckingham and Foinavon sped for the #nishing post. Seventeen jockeys remounted and gave chase and at one point Honey End

If Red Rum was one thing, then Foinavon was quite another. Even so, the least likely winner in the history of the Grand National went on to become another Grand National legend.

Of course Foinavon’s fame isn’t about speed or stamina. In fact the horse was well known for his laid back approach, a tendency to fall, and even for stopping mid-

race to snack on a fence! Sometimes though, it isn’t about the ‘how you win’ but rather the ‘why you win’ that builds a legend.

!e place is Aintree and the date April 8th, 1967. It’s the day of the 121st Grand National. When John Buckingham decided to ride Foinavon in the race little did he know that the 100/1 outsider was about to make Grand National history. !e ride had been turned down by three other jockeys. But John was so desperate to ride that he would, in his own words, “have ridden Dick’s donkey to be in the Grand National.” Well, Foinavon wasn’t quite a donkey, but he was so badly rated that even his owner didn’t bother to turn up to watch the race on that fateful day.

nearly caught him in the #nal few furlongs. But Honey End couldn’t quite manage it and with a #nal burst of energy Foinavon came in to win.

Foinavon, the no-hoper with odds of 444/1 in the tote, had managed to complete one of the most remarkable victories in the history of the Grand National.

After the race commentator Michael O’Hehir suggested that the fence at the heart of the carnage, at 4ft 6in the smallest on the course, should be named after the winning horse. In 1984, seventeen years after Foinavon’s remarkable ride, the 23rd fence was officially renamed the Foinavon fence.

Foinavon�� -�� The�� Unlikely�� Hero

"Foinavon�� was�� so�� unfancied�� that�� his�� owner�� didn't�� even�� watch�� the�� race"



testicular cancer and given only eight months to live. Bob however had other ideas. Refusing to believe that his doctors were right, Bob insisted that they were mistaken in their diagnosis.

Unfortunately the diagnosis wasn’t wrong and it looked as if Bob had only a 40 percent chance of living; even with a new programme of chemotherapy. In true Bob Champion style he took the treatment whilst continuing to train and race. It seemed to make him even more determined to win the Grand

National. For a while things seemed to be going well. But then the ongoing treatment took its toll on Bob’s health and, when a vigorous infection almost killed him, he was forced to put his National ambitions on the back burner.

But nothing could keep Bob down for long. After missing the 1980 Grand National as soon as he was able he was back in training. In 1981 he rode Aldaniti, who had been through his own health issues and had only recently recovered from chronic leg problems, in the National. !e two seemed to be a perfect match - stubborn, refusing to give in and hard-working. Even so, Bob's cancer and Aldaniti's triple leg injuries caused almost everyone to speculate that they didn’t stand a chance of winning.

Of course, Bob and Aldaniti didn’t care about the speculation; they had a job to do and were going to do it. In April, 1981,

Usually, as in the case of Foinavon, sporting legends are made and not born. Chance and luck meet up to present a set of circumstances that cause an outcome nobody could have expected. Sometimes though, legends are made through sheer will, courage and determination. Almost as if the individuals involved were born to be great.

Bob Champion was born in Yorkshire in 1948. From an early

age he was surrounded by riders and horses. His father was a keen huntsman and Bob learnt to ride almost before he had learnt to walk. It was obvious from the start that Bob’s love of riding and horses would play a huge part in his life and eventually it led him to win the Grand National.

Bob won his #rst horse race at just 15 years of age, and after this victory continued to race on the National Hunt circuit. He had a special way with horses and women, which allowed him to win races and brought him some notoriety as a ladies-man. He was respected both in the UK and abroad and spent a while racing in America where he continued to win. Eventually though, his career led him back to Britain and his burning desire to win the Grand National. He raced in the Grand National eight times after returning to Britain, always dreaming that one day he would come home #rst. !en in 1979, Bob Champion was diagnosed with

Bob achieved his dream and won the National. !eir victory has proved to be of the most memorable and emotional moments in horse racing. Coming in four-and-a-half lengths ahead of a highly competitive #eld, Bob and Aldaniti beat the odds, fate, maybe even cheated death, and made history in the process.

After his Grand National triumph Bob Champion continued to race until 1983, racking up around 500 wins in total. After retiring from racing he concentrated on training horses and running the Bob Champion Cancer Trust, a charity that Bob set up initially to help men with testicular cancer. To date the charity has raised millions of pounds for cancer research and Bob remains fully involved.

Bob’s story inspired the 1983 #lm Champions, starring John Hurt. Aldaniti died at the age of 27 in March, 1997.

Bob�� Champion�� &�� Aldaniti



up with a headache in the Royal Liverpool In#rmary. Racing commentator, Peter O'Sullevan would wait for the Duke’s fall each year, gravely intoning: "And the Duke of Albuquerque's gone".

He #rst attempted to win the race in 1952. On this occasion he fell from his horse, waking up later in hospital with a cracked vertebra. He tried again in 1963. But once again fell from his horse, delighting the bookies who had placed a bet of 66-1 against him

#nishing still in the saddle. 1965 saw another fall. !is time the Duke broke his leg when his horse collapsed beneath him.

He returned in 1973, and when his stirrup broke he clung on to his horse for eight fences before waking up in hospital once again. !e following year, after having

sixteen screws removed from a broken leg sustained after falling in another race, he fell in training and broke his collarbone. It didn’t stop him though and he competed in a plaster cast. !is time he actually managed to #nish the race in eighth (and last) place; a

Billed as the worst jockey in horse-racing history, Beltrán Alfonso Osorio y Díez de Rivera, also known as the Iron Duke of Albuquerque is perhaps the National’s greatest ever character.

Born in 1918, his childhood was spent on horseback. After receiving a grainy black-and-white #lm of the Grand National as a gift for his eighth birthday, the Duke became obsessed with the race:

"I said then that I would win that race one day," he later recalled.

To call him eccentric would be like calling the sea damp. Born of a Spanish aristocratic family, he entered the Grand National seven times as an amateur jockey but only #nished once. !e Duke was an immensely popular #gure in British racing for many years and cut a distinctive and debonair #gure. A tall, slender man with a prominent nose and chin, he had the look of a traditional Spanish grandee, although he was sometimes described as closely resembling the cartoons of Mr Punch.

Magni#cent and sometimes seemingly mad, there was a consistency to his National attempts. Generally he would start the race, gallop for a while, and then wake

long way behind the winner that year, Red Rum.

1976 saw Peter O'Sullevan say “And the Duke of Albuquerque's gone” for the #nal time. Sustaining his most serious injuries to date, the Duke spent a long time in a Liverpool hospital after being trampled in the race by a number of other horses. !roughout his eventful and painful racing career he sustained seven broken ribs, a large number of fractured vertebrae, a broken wrist and thigh, suffered a major concussion, and was once in a coma for two days. Eventually race organisers wisely decided to revoke his license rather than allow him to suffer further injuries.

Beltran Alfonso Osorio y Díez de Rivera, 18th Duke of Alburquerque, !e “Iron” Duke of Aintree, died on the 18th of February 1994 at the age of seventy-six.

The�� Iron�� Duke�� Of�� Albuquerque


"I�� said�� then�� that�� I�� would�� winthat�� race�� one�� day"


Devon Loch fell just 50 yards from the #nishing post and the Queen Mother missed out on her #rst National winner. Afterwards, !e Queen Mother was famously reported to have philosophically said about the incident “!at's racing”. To this day nobody knows exactly what happened. According to some experts Devon Loch may have suffered a cramp in the hindquarters which caused him to drop. Others remain convinced that it was a trick of the light, caused by a shadow on the track, that confused Devon Loch - maybe he

thought that there another jump in front of him. !e initial reports that the horse had suffered a heart attack were soon dismissed; Devon Loch recovered almost immediately.

Whatever the reason for the strange behaviour of Devon Loch, the incident puzzled Dick Francis so much that he

became a thriller writer. His wife Mary once told a reporter that had Dick won that Grand National there would have been no bestselling autobiography and no thrillers. Dick Francis maintains that the real cause of the horse’s collapse was the incredible noise made by the cheering crowd in the home straight. He says that as it became clear that the

It isn’t often that a Grand National is remembered for a defeat rather than a victory. But the 1956 National is usually recalled as the race where Devon Loch lost at the last and not for the victory of the winning horse. Devon Loch was owned by Her Majesty the Queen Mother and ridden by Dick Francis, who went on to become a famous author.

After winning twice that season, the horse's trainers were con#dent that Devon Loch would go on to win the National.

Both Dick and Devon had a great run on the day of the race, clearing all 30 fences cleanly and heading into the #nal furlongs well ahead of E.S.B who looked like coming second. It appeared certain that Devon Loch was going to win. But as Devon Loch raced towards the #nishing post he seemed to freeze before suddenly, and without any apparent reason, jumping into the air and then falling to the ground in a belly "op. Spotting his chance Dave Dick on E.S.B. "ew past Devon Loch and won the 1956 National as Dick Francis tried desperately to get the horse up and back in the race.

Queen Mother was going to get her #rst National winner the noise grew so loud that it caused Devon Loch to stop dead in his tracks.

Some years later the Queen Mother met winning jockey Dave Dick and asked: "What did you think when my horse fell down?” Dick replied: “I was absolutely delighted, Ma'am.”

!ese days, ‘Doing a Devon Loch’ is often used by sports commentators and sportsmen as a way to describe inexplicable, sudden, or last minutes failures. Although we don’t know why the Queen Mother’s horse seemed to throw a #t that eventful day, one thing is for sure – it could be the reason why Dave Dick was never knighted.

Devon�� Loch�� Falls�� Yards�� From�� Finish�� Line��


"I�� was�� absolutely�� delighted�� Ma'am"


a horse that had swum 50 miles to safety. On reading the story Moifaa's trainer reclaimed the horse and Moifaa went on to win the 1904 Grand National.

Moifaa’s story is very dramatic, but unfortunately not entirely true. !e 1904 Grand National did have a shipwrecked horse in the race. But it wasn’t Moifaa, simply another horse bound for Aintree.

!e story which went on to create a legend is a case of mistaken identity.

!e ship carrying Moifaa was caught in a storm; but arrived safely in England without further incident.

Another ship - the S.S !ermopylae - struck a reef off Table Bay on the Cape of Good Hope, and it was this incident that is believed to have caused the confusion.

!e crew abandoned ship and scrambled to land, but

!ere are many legends surrounding the Grand National, but none as fantastic as that of shipwrecked horse Moifaa, the Grand National winner of 1904.

Moifaa wasn’t a pretty horse. At 17 hands, he was big and strong and was sometimes described as having the head and shoulders of a camel. In 1904 the horse's

owner, Spencer Gollan, shipped the stallion and a couple of other horses from New Zealand to Liverpool to run in the National. Sailing in the Irish Sea the vessel got caught in a violent storm and it soon became evident that the ship was going to sink. With no way of getting the horse into a lifeboat, Moifaa was set free from his box and left to roam the deck. It was his only chance, albeit a slim one.

!at really should have been the end of Moifaa. But a day later, a #sherman heard a noise like a whinny coming from an uninhabited island and went to investigate. To his surprise he found Moifaa and, managing to get the horse onboard his #shing boat, took him safely across to the mainland. A local reporter heard of the #sherman's tale and published a story about

one brave officer swam back out to the vessel and managed to free a horse named Kiora. At #rst it seemed that Kiora had been drowned. But somehow the horse managed to swim to Mouille Point where he landed on a shallow reef. !e following day locals found the horse alive and exhausted, and eventually he continued his journey to England where he ran in the 1904 National alongside Moifaa. Somehow the two horses became confused by the press and the myth of a shipwrecked National Winner was born.

Moifaa was sold to King Edward VII and became his favourite. When the King died in 1910, Moifaa followed the gun carriage that carried the coffin though the streets of London.


The�� Legend�� Of�� Moifaa

"A�� case�� of�� mistaken�� identitysparks�� the�� legend"


and this makes a day at Aintree even more special. !e Grand National Meeting itself comprises of Liverpool Day on the !ursday, Ladies Day on the Friday, and culminates in the Grand National which takes place on Saturday.

!e Grand National is considered to be one of the biggest sporting events in the UK along with the F.A. Cup, Wimbledon and the Ashes and it’s one of the ‘Protected Sport Events’ - events that must be shown on terrestrial TV channels and not sold to Satellite broadcasters. Aintree must be the most watched village in the world; the Grand

Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, is probably the most famous racecourse in the world and the home of the Grand National, the world’s most famous jump race. It’s an attractive and lively course and the energy provided by the city of Liverpool, with a population of over 400,000 and a surrounding urban area of around 800,000, makes Aintree an even more exciting place to visit. !e name Aintree means ‘single tree’, and the racecourse, which is situated in Aintree village, is one of the most difficult courses in horse racing. Triangular in shape, the course has a reputation as the ultimate test of horse and jockey with a number of fences that are famous for their severity.

Outside of the three day Grand National Meeting Aintree holds #ve other racedays each year - in May, June, October and December. So you can’t go racing at Aintree every day

AINTREE RACECOURSE

National is viewed by over 500 million people on television across the globe and is more popular than Formula 1 car racing and the NFL Super Bowl.

!e race has featured in a number of #lms, including the 1944 movie 'National Velvet' starring Liz Taylor, and Champions, the story of how Bob Champion and Aldaniti became Grand National winners. !ere’s also a BBC documentary: !e Big Flutter – !e Grand National on Film.

A trip to Aintree is very exciting. To help you have the very best Grand National experience possible here are some tips that may help you to enjoy your day even more.

"The�� name�� Aintree�� means�� Single�� Tree"


Where can I watch the action from?Limited seating is available around the racecourse, so if you want to be seated it’s a good idea to book a seat in advance in one of the grandstands. !ere are #ve grandstands each with a variety of seating options and priced accordingly. Roof positions in the Princess Royal and Queen Mother stands are cheaper than the seated options. In the Earl of Derby and Lord Sefton stands, terrace tickets are a cheaper option than the upper and lower seats. !e County stand is situated directly in line with the winning post with tickets available on the roof of the enclosure. Tattersalls enclosure has access to the winners’ enclosure and parade ring. !e Steeplechase enclosure is the cheapest enclosure at the course, with a more relaxed dress code than other grandstands and unreserved seating. !e Aintree mound is another very good vantage point to watch the race from.

What do I wear?Aintree Racecourse is relaxed about what you can and can’t wear and there’s no real dress code. Smart dress is encouraged and preferred, and of course many racegoers feel that looking the part adds to the excitement of the races. Big hats are fun and a must on Ladies Day, but optional. Sports clothes, including tracksuits and football shirts, are not allowed. Be practical, prepared and most of all comfortable in what you decide to wear.

What should I take with me?Remember, it’s early April, so a brolly is a must; as is the racing pages of a national newspaper or the Racing Post to help you to pick a winner. Take a camera for snapping some great photos of your day, but no "ashes as they can upset the horses. Binoculars will help you to see the close-up action as the National runners thunder by. Remember, it can be a long day, so if you have a shooting stick or similar then you might like to take that along with you. Don’t forget to bring some cash - you’ll want to have a "utter. Some bookies take a minimum bet of £5; the tote will take bets as small as £2.

What if I’m in a wheelchair?No problem. Aintree has made the course available to as many racegoers as possible.

Is there anything else to do at Aintree Racecourse?!ere’s plenty to do at Aintree Racecourse. Don’t miss the chance of walking the course and seeing some of the famous fences up close (ground conditions allowing). Or take in the Visitor Centre, where you can learn about the race’s history and sit in the jockey’s weighing-in chair. For art lovers there’s the art of the National at the gallery, and it’s always worth taking a look at Red Rum’s statue and grave. For Motor racing fans there’s the historic Aintree motor racing circuit, host of #ve British Grand Prix; and if golf is your game there’s even a nine-hole golf course.

Are there any baby Changing Facilities?!ere is designated baby changing facility located in many of the stands, pavillion and in the Irish bar!

Tips�� For�� Aintree

AINTREE RACECOURSE


frame and covered with natural green spruce. Over 150 tonnes of branches, especially sawn and carried to Aintree from the Lake District, are traditionally used to dress some of the most famous fences in the world.

Are you up to the task? Would you like to give it a go? Come with us and we’ll take you around the course fence by fence. We’ve already managed to get through the long build up to the race; the parade and re-girth are over. !e steward has told us to go steady but we want

Imagine running in the Grand National. What would it feel like as you wait for the tape to go up; two circuits of the most famous course in the world ahead of you? How would you stand up alongside 40 hurtling horses as you attempt to jump 16 of the most challenging fences in jump racing? Could you keep your nerve as you jostle for position and race towards that #rst all-important fence?

Riding in the Grand National is not for the faint-hearted. With a total course length of just over 4 miles, 4 furlongs over two full circuits it’s a long and hard ride. All 16 fences are jumped on the #rst circuit, but on the second circuit, where runners bear to the right as they race for home, !e Chair and the Water Jump are not repeated. Each fence is constructed from a wooden

AINTREE RACECOURSE

to be off and need a good sight of the #rst fence to get in the best position possible…ready? And we’re off!

Fence 1 (17)We meet the #rst fence at speed. It’s 4ft 6in high and 2ft 9in wide and, as the #rst, it often causes horses to fall as they rush eagerly towards it. !e drop on the landing side has been reduced to provide a more level landing. It’s expected that fewer horses will ‘over-jump’ the fence and avoid incidents like the one in 1951 where 12 runners fell; but the #rst is always tough. We’re clear and away and approaching the second.

"Take�� a�� fence�� by�� fence�� journey�� around�� the�� Grand�� National�� course�� "


Fence 4 (20)We’ll need to be careful with this one. At 4ft 10in high and 3ft wide, fence 4 became the #rst fence in National history to be bypassed on the second circuit following the death of a horse the #rst time around in 2011. It’s a tricky one and often leads to falls and unseated riders. But not us, we’re clear and still running.

Fence 5 (21)At 5 ft high and 3ft 6in wide, this is the highest yet - just look at all that Spruce. !is fence was bypassed on the second circuit when in 2012 a jockey fell from his mount on the #rst circuit and broke his leg. But we keep our seat and are about to take on the most infamous obstacle on the course.

Fence 2 (18)!e second fence is about the same height as the #rst but at 3ft 6in it’s much wider. It used to be known as !e Fan after a mare that refused the fence three years running. !e name was dropped when the fences were relocated, but Fan or not it’s still a challenge. No refusal for us and on to the next.

Fence 3 (19)Fence 3 is our #rst really big test. At 4ft 10ins high Westhead is the tallest fence so far. But it isn’t just the height we have to contend with as we approach, there’s also a 6ft ditch preceding the fence. Hold tight… and we’re over! Our #rst big challenge out of the way and we’ll be back to jump it again with luck

AINTREE RACECOURSE

Fence 6 (22) Becher's Brook, the most famous fence in the world. !e fence is named after Captain Martin Becher who fell here in the #rst Grand National. Becher took shelter in the small brook running along the landing side of the fence as the other horses thundered over him. It doesn’t look too bad from the take-off side, at 5ft the same height as the last one. But it’s the other side that we need to think about. !e steep drop on the landing side, coupled with a left-hand turn on landing, make this the most talked about fence in the world. !e ground on the landing side is between 6in and 10in lower than the take-off. We’ll need to sit back in the saddle and use our body weight to keep the horse stable, he won’t be expecting the ground to have disappeared under him on landing. !at’s right, sit back. We’re over.


horses when they land. Before the First World War it was pretty common for riderless horses to continue straight on and end up in the water. To avoid this, we’re going to have to immediately turn a full 90 degrees as soon as we are over the fence. It’d be easy for us to falter here, and this fence is often make or break. !e best and most daring route is to go to the inside of the jump. We’ll take the fence at a scary angle, but we’ll also reduce the angle of the turn on landing. Here goes. Well, that worked just #ne, so no early bath for us and it’s on to Valentine’s Brook.

Fence 9 (25) Valentine's Brook is the third of the four most famous fences to be jumped in succession. It’s another tricky one at

Fence 7 (23)!at’s a relief and with that one out of the way, the next one should be much easier. Foinavon Fence is one of the smallest in the race, but coming straight after the big drop of Becher’s it can sometimes catch horses and riders out. At 4ft 6in high and 3ft wide it became famous in 1967 when Fionavon became the only horse to get over it following a mass pile-up of horses. No pile-ups today though and we are approaching the Canal Turn.

Fence 8 (24) !e Canal Turn’s another tough one; made from hawthorn stakes and covered in Norway spruce it gets its name from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal which is in front of the

AINTREE RACECOURSE

5ft high and 3ft 3in wide with a brook on the landing side that’s about 5ft 6in across. It was originally known as the Second Brook but was renamed after a horse named Valentine who is reputed to have jumped the fence hind legs #rst in 1840. No hind legs for us today as we race towards the tenth.

Fence 10 (26)With three of the big ones out of the way, it’s on to a plain thorn fence that’s 5ft high and 3ft wide. As we run alongside the canal it’s hard to believe that we are just a third of the way into the race, but we are still running - so on to the ditches.


Fence 15!ey call this fence !e Chair. It’s 5 ft 2in high with a 6 ft wide ditch in front of it. It’s the only fence to have claimed a human life and that was way back in 1862. It’s called !e Chair because this is where a distance judge once used to sit and record non-#nishers. It’s one for the cameras and there are lots of spectators watching as we jump. So smile for the camera as we clear the ditch and go over.

Fence 16!is is the last jump on the #rst circuit and originally it was a stone wall. Today it’s called !e Water Jump and is only 2ft 6 in high. But don’t be fooled, there’s an 8ft 10in ditch behind it. When we come around again, after the thirtieth fence and if we’re still running, we’re going to bear right, avoiding !e Chair and Water Jump, and head into the run-in towards the #nishing post.

Okay, let’s do it all again and ride on through to the thirtieth.

Well we made it, and we’ve almost completed the Grand National Course; thirty heart-in-mouth fences

Fence 12 (28) Fence twelve is another ditch. 5ft high with a 5ft 6in ditch, this time on the landing side. !is can be a little tricky sometimes, but we are over and now we’re crossing the Melling Road near to the Anchor Bridge. Luckily the road is closed on racedays and we don’t have to jump over hedges like they did in the past. We’re in a good rhythm now and the next fence should cause us no problem.

Fence 13 (29)Fence thirteen is 4ft 7in high and 3ft wide. Beyond it lies what will be the last fence when we go around for the second time. Fence thirteen is unlucky for some, but not for us as we gallop towards fourteen.

Fence 14 (30)!is will be the #nal fence on our second circuit and it’s pretty much the same height as the last one. We’ve almost completed the course once, but there are still a couple of big challenges to come. We are going to jump the next two fences only once and on the second circuit we’ll miss these out completely and race for home instead.

and the scene of so many horse racing dreams and dramas over a lot of years. We’ve been around twice and now we are into the home straight. At 494 yards it’s the longest in the UK and not completely straight; an ‘elbow’ means that we are going to have to make a slight right turn before #nding ourselves truly heading for the winning post. Hold tight and don’t start counting your winnings until we reach the post. !e run-in can - and usually does - change fortunes.

So wish us luck as we romp home hoping to win the race that every jockey, trainer, owner and once-a-year punter dreams of winning – !e Grand National jump race at Aintee.

AINTREE RACECOURSE


might as well stick a pin in the newspaper'? Well, let us tell you it's simply not true!

!at’s not to say the Nationals’ unique course does not throw up the occasional unexpected winner. !e 100/1 shot Foinavon won in 1967 when all the other horses fell but the truth of the matter is that generally Grand National winners fall into a narrow band of statistics. Rarely do winners emerge from outside a speci#c set of trends and if you know what to look for you can dramatically improve your chances of backing a winner on the big day.

You don't need to be an expert in horses, form or betting to pick out a winner. In fact you're not even

!e Grand National is a race for horses who are seven-years-old and upwards and who are rated 120 or more by the British Horseracing Authority. More people bet on the National than any other single race.

It’s the one we all have a "utter on and for many betting on the Grand National is the only time in the year that they’ll have a bet on a horse. In general the majority of people who bet on the race don’t study form and have very little knowledge about the horses running. Conventional wisdom states that the Grand National is a lottery of a race. How many times have you heard someone repeat this mantra 'Anyone could win it - you

PICKING A WINNER

going to pick a winner! You just need to eliminate the horses that can't win. Once you've followed these simple steps you'll be left with around 3 or 4 horses that have a great chance of #nishing in the places.

Firstly you need to discount any horse aged between 7 and 8 years old. !e last 8 year old to win the race was Bindaree back in 2002 and you'll need to go back to 1940s to #nd a 7 year old winner! Horses aged 9, 10, 11 have the best records however anything older than that will struggle in this demanding race. Once you’ve removed all the 7 and 8 year olds and those horses 12 years or older you should be left with 25 - 30 runners from a #eld of 40.


Focus on horses carrying between 10 stone 5lb and 11 stone 3lb. !is will cut the number of runners down even further.

Now you have a manageable list of runners you can look in more detail at individual horses form. Don't worry you don't need any expertise, just look for horses that have fallen in previous races. If a horse can’t jump around a standard steeplechase fence at Haydock then he’ll stand little chance of navigating the massive Aintree fences.

You can #nd that information by googling the horses name and 'form' look for the letter 'f' in their recent form, if you see it but a line through that runners name. Don't hope a horses jumping ability will improve, they

Now it’s time to take a look at the weights the horses will be carrying. !e Grand National is a handicap race and this means that good horses will have to carry more weight than the less experienced ones. !e aim of handicap is to level up the horses abilities giving each runner a fairer chance of winning.

Last years winner Neptune Collonges won carrying a massive 11 stone 5lb, bucking the trend of a winning horse carrying no more than 11 stone. Nevertheless it’s worth noting that only four horses in the last 20 years have won carrying more than 11 stone. !e energy sapping effect of these weights will be greater if the ground at Aintree is soft or heavy on the day of the race.

PICKING A WINNER

don't suddenly become great jumpers overnight!

Your list should now be getting very short and this is the time to see which horses have never run at Aintree before. Horses are like people, they like and dislike certain places, you'll want to discount any horse that hasn't run at Aintree before.

Now you should have 6 or 7 runners on your list, you've gotten rid of 30+ no hopers! To whittle it down even further focus on horses who have previously completed a Grand National, even if they #nished a long way off the places. It's amazing how many horses #nish outside the places one year and then go on to win the following year!


three Hurdle race wins and 21 Steeplechase victories. He died aged 30 in 1995 and was buried with his head facing the winning post at Aintree.

Everyone loves a tryer and there’s little doubt that !e Pilgaric was certainly that.

Few horses can claim to have jumped as many Grand National fences as !e Pilgarlic. Back in the late seventies he was one of the constants of the race, de#nitely in the running but never quite able to take the

prize. Always in the shadow of the mighty Red Rum, he #nished fourth in 1977, #fth in 1978, fourth again in 1979, and blew his best chance in 1980 when he #nished third at 33/1 out of only four #nishers. !at year the race was won by Ben Nevis ridden by Charlie Fenwick, an American amateur rider; Rough and Tumble ridden by John Francome came in second, third was !e Pilgarlic and fourth was Stuart Royal.

Today he’s remembered as the horse that never quite managed to come in #rst and the term ‘a bit of a Pilgaric’ is sometimes used to describe a horse that almost always places but never wins.

Red Rum, or Rummie as he became affectionately known, is without doubt the greatest Grand National winner of all time. !e Irish-born horse won the National three times and came in a very respectable second on the other two occasions he ran in the race.

Rummie #rst won the race in 1973 after managing to outrun top Australian horse Crisp. !e following year Red Rum won the National again, becoming a favourite with both the public and the racing fraternity alike.

In 1975 Red Rum was beaten by double Gold Cup winner L'Escargot who romped home by 15 lengths denying Red Rum his third consecutive win. Rummie lost again in 1976 when he was beaten by Rag Trade, the fourth winner trained by Fred Rimell. !e following year saw Red Rum triumph once more when he completed the course in 9 minutes 30.3 seconds destroying the rest of the #eld and winning by 25 clear lengths.

Red Rum was entered into the Grand National in 1978 and 1979 but injury forced him to withdraw and forced his retirement. He was placed 37 times and still holds the record as the horse with the most Grand National wins. His career record includes three Flat race wins,

State Of Play will go down in Grand National history as one of those veteran horses who came back to Aintree year after year and gave his very best.

He was hailed as a ‘racing legend’ by Welsh horse-racing trainer Evan Williams after #nishing in the top four in three Grand Nationals and winning the 2006 Hennessy Gold Cup. Placed fourth in 2009, third in 2010, and fourth once again in 2011, the 12-year-old gelding was retired by Williams after a disappointing performance in the National in 2012 when he fell at the #fth.

FAMOUS NATIONAL HORSES


Amberleigh House won the 2004 Grand National, giving Ginger McCain his fourth and $nal Grand National Winner.

Amberleigh House made his Grand National debut in 2001, but fell at the Canal Turn. He was entered again in 2004 and was at 16/1 on the day. Expectations weren’t great and it looked like the best he could hope for was a 4th placed #nish.

Amberleigh House looked tired as he followed the

leading trio of Clan Royal, Hedgehunter and Lord Atterbury some 20 lengths behind. !en, with four fences remaining, Hedgehunter suffered a fall and Clan Royal faltered as he nearly took the wrong course. Spotting his chance Graeme Lee brought Amberleigh House down the outside, grabbing the lead in the #nal furlong and going on to win by three lengths.

Amberleigh House had come from a seemingly impossible position and, in a thrilling #nish, had giving Ginger McCain his fourth Grand National win almost a quarter of a century after Red Rum’s #nal victory. Amberleigh House competed in four more Grand Nationals ridden by Graham Lee. In total he raced 11 times over the National fences without a single fall. He

Esher Ness will be remembered as the only horse to be $rst past the Grand National post and not to become the winner.

!e 1996 Grand National ended in chaos when 30 of the 39 riders failed to realise a false start had been called and set off around the racetrack. !e disastrous sequence of events began when protestors got onto the track close to the #rst fence just seconds before the horses were due to set off. !e race was delayed and two false starts followed as horses became tangled in the

starting tape. On the second false start, the recall "ag, which lets riders know to pull up once they have started, was not waved.

All but nine of the starters raced away and 11 riders had completed the # rst circuit before pulling up. Unfortunately, seven riders never realised anything was wrong and raced on to the #nish line. Esher Ness, ridden by John White, crossed the line #rst followed by Cahervillahow in second and Romany King in third.

For the #rst time ever !e Jockey Club was forced to declare the race void and bookmakers had to refund almost £75 million to disappointed punters. It has become known as ‘!e Grand National that never was.’

is now retired and living at the National Stud in Newmarket.

In 1999 Bobbyjo became the $rst Irish winner of the Grand National in 24 years.

Bobbyjo had previously won the Irish Grand National the year before in 1998, but despite this he wasn’t fancied for the Aintree Grand National because of the lack of success of Irish horses in the race. On the day, Bobbyjo had odds of 10/1 with Paul Carberry, the son of the trainer Tommy Carberry, in the saddle. Coincidentally Tommy Carberry was the last jockey to have ridden an Irish winner in 1975 on L’Escargot.



belly"op on the ground. E.S.B. rode on to overtake the fallen Devon Loch then on to victory, completing the course in 9 minutes 21.4 seconds, just one second off the record completion time.

And some of the other runners…

Peter Simple is the oldest horse to have won the National in 1853, aged 15.

Alcibiade (1865), Regal (1876), Austerlitz (1877), Empress (1880), and Lutteur III (1909) share the

title of youngest winning horses, all aged 5

Abd-El-Kader was the !rst horse to win back-to-back Nationals, in 1850 and 1851.

Alcibiade (1865), Reugny (1874), Lutteur III (1909), and Mon Mome (2009) are the only four winners to be bred in France. Golden Miller won in 1934, becoming the only horse to win both the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National in the same season.

Manifesto has run in more races than any other

Half a dozen horses were in with a chance at the #nal fence, but Bobbyjo managed to draw clear on the run-in to beat Blue Charm by 10 clear lengths; Call It A Day came in third and Addington Boy fourth. Paul Carberry spectacularly leapt from the saddle at the end of the race describing the race as “a dream come true.”

Bobbyjo broke a knee at Fairyhouse Racecourse in February 2001 and had to be destroyed a month later due to his injuries. As a memorial to this great horse, a new steeplechase, #rst run at Fairyhouse Racecourse in February 2003, was named after him.

E.S.B. has gone down in the annals of Grand National history as the luckiest Grand National Winner on record. E.S.B. was an Irish-bred, British-trained, dark bay gelding bred in County Kildare and trained by the legendary Fred Rimell.

On the day of the 1956 Grand National E.S.B. was ridden by jockey Dave Dick. He started at odds of 100/7 in a #eld of twenty-nine runners. !e race was all but over and it looked certain to be won by the Queen Mother’s horse, Devon Loch, who had a #ve-length lead on the run-in. !en, forty yards from the #nishing post, Devon Loch, ridden by Dick Francis, suddenly half-jumped into the air then collapsed in a

horse with eight races. Between 1895 and 1904 he won two, came third three times, and failed to !nish once.Earth Summit became the !rst winner of the Grand National to also be successful in both the Scottish and Welsh Grand Nationals in 1998.

Sergeant Murphy became the !rst US bred horse to win the race in 1923.

Battleship, US bred son of the famous Man o' War, became the !rst - and so far only - horse to have won both the Grand National and the American Grand National.



best horsemanship skills. A top class jockey will ride hundreds, maybe thousands of horses during his career, often with little pre-knowledge of his mount. Being able to build an immediate rapport with the horse and letting it know who’s in charge is of real importance. Jockeys also need to be light. !e average weight for a jump jockey is around 9st 7lbs and of course, as professional athletes, they need to be extremely #t and healthy.

You also need to be able to take the highs with the lows as life as a jockey has more than its fair share of unpredictability and danger. A.P. McCoy summed up the life of a top class jump jockey perfectly when he said: “A jump jockey’s life is never dull, no day the same as another. !ere are plenty of challenging moments,

Of course a horse is a just horse, and a fence is just a fence, without a jockey to master both. A Grand National jockey is something very special indeed. !ese are the men and women who stake their reputations, even their lives, in an attempt to win the greatest prize in jump racing.

!e combination of physical, mental, emotional and of course the skill to become a National jockey is rare. Many good riders are ruled out by size alone. So what does it take to be a Grand National winning jockey?

All jockeys need to be committed, dedicated, highly motivated, and of course an excellent rider with the very

GRAND NATIONAL JOCKEYS

but when you reach a high it far outweighs the lows. One minute you can be riding a horse into the winner’s enclosure after the world’s greatest horse race – the Grand National at Aintree – and in the next race you can be off a horse. Despite the physical and mental demands that require total commitment, it is a wonderful life full of excitement.”

Very few jockeys get to ride into the winner’s enclosure at Aintree, particularly after winning the Grand National. But for those that do succeed the rewards are high. Let’s take a look at just a few of the jockeys who have made it into this exclusive club over the years.


apprentice riding in Britain, McCoy won the Conditional Jump Jockeys Title with a record 74 winners. He claimed his #rst Champion Jockey title in 1995/6 and has gone on to win 17 consecutive Champion Jockey titles, smashing Peter Scudamore’s previous record of 7 consecutive titles. He also holds the record for most winners ridden in a single season - 2001/02 with 289 wins. McCoy has won just about every big race it is possible to win including the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase, King George VI Chase and !e Grand National in 2010. He’s ridden in over 13,000 races and is no stranger to falls. He’s a

A.P. will go down as one of the all time greats. He had his $rst win at the tender age of 17 in 1992 and since then he’s ridden over 3,600 winners, far more than any other jump jockey in the history of racing.

At 5ft 10in he’s pretty tall for a jockey, but McCoy has achieved the almost impossible by becoming British Champion Jump Jockey every year since he became a professional.

From the start he seemed fated to become ‘!e Champ’ as many call him. In his very #rst season as an


living testament to the dangers of being a jockey and has broken or dislocated almost every bone in his body, including both shoulder blades, middle and lower vertebrae, several ribs, his ankle and wrist, a leg, a collar bone, several #ngers and his teeth.

McCoy is retained by Irish millionaire and racehorse owner, J. P. McManus and rides all of his horses in Britain for him. McCoy has been awarded an OBE and was named as BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2010, becoming the #rst ever jockey to win the prestigious award.


National on Numbersixvalverde, the Welsh National o n S i l v e r B i r c h , a n d t h e E n g l i s h national on Hedgehunter.

He’s the darling of the Chelteham Festival crowd with 32 winners at Cheltenham, where he was leading jockey in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. At the 2009 Cheltenham Festival he rode a record-breaking seven winners over the four days. On the second day of the 2010 festival he rode Sanctuaire to victory in the Fred Winter Juvenile Novices Handicap Hurdle, becoming the jockey with the most ever wins in the history of the festival.

Rupert (Ruby) Walsh is a real favourite with the racing crowd. He’s the eldest son of former champion amateur jockey Ted Walsh and is viewed as Irish racing royalty in his home country. He’s the reigning Irish National Hunt champion jockey; a title he has won 6 times and dominates the jockeys’ championship in Ireland. He won the English Grand National in 2000 at his #rst attempt, aged 20, then went on to win the Irish Grand National that same year. In the 2004/5 season Ruby won three of the four Nationals : the Ir ish


To date Walsh has ridden over 1,900 winners and rides mainly for two stables, one on each side of the Irish Sea. In Ireland he rides for Willie Mullins, and in England he rides for Somerset-based champion trainer Paul Nicholls. Coming from one of Ireland’s leading racing families, he also takes the occasional ride for his father.

Ruby famously told the press that “Becher’s Brook frightened the heart out of me, but it was some thrill” and commenting on Hedgehunter’s win at the 2005 Grand National quipped: “I didn’t care about going off favourite – the horse has no idea what price he is!”


After Treadwell’s surprise Grand National victory at A i n t r e e p o p u l a r s p o r t s p r e s e n t e r C l a r e Balding interviewed him on television, joking that he would now be able to afford to pay to have his very

wobbly teeth sorted out. Her light-hearted remarks prompted a "urry of complaints from sensitive viewers a n d b o t h t h e B B C a n d B a l d i n g p u b l i c l y apologised. Balding later went on to clarify on the satirical BBC quiz show ‘Have I Got News For’ that

Grand National winner Liam Treadwell might well go down in racing history as the man whose teeth led to a national outcry. Liam romped home to victory on Mon Mome in 2009 at odds of 100/1.

It was only the #fth time in the National’s history that a horse had won with such long odds, the most recent being Foinavon in 1967. It was Treadwell’s debut in the National and his #rst season in jump racing, so his success was astounding and it led to him to become a celebrity almost overnight.


she believed Treadwell to have had his teeth ‘kicked out’ by a horse, a common injury with jockeys, and apologised again.

Liam, on the other hand, wasn’t at all worried by Clare’s remarks as he was immediately offered free dental treatment by dozens of dentists probably saving him upwards of £30,000. “It was the best thing Clare ever said” Liam told reporters at the time.

"You�� can�� afford�� to�� get�� your�� teeth�� fixed�� now!"


Chepstow in 1994. At the time of her Grand National attempt she had ridden 30 winners under rules and at least 45 wins in point-to-points. She had also won the Foxhunters' Chase at Aintree the previous year on Forest Gunner, just 10 weeks after giving birth.

Not everyone agreed that she was in with a chance though. Ginger McCaine caused uproar when he said: “Horses do not win Grand Nationals ridden by women - that's a fact. Carrie is a grand lass, but she's a brood mare now, and having

kids does not get you #t to ride in Grand Nationals.” Carrie, on the other hand, took a different view: “Were things to work out - while I am not a raging feminist, it would be brilliant for girls in the sport and for the sport itself.”

As it turned out Carrie didn’t win the National but did complete the race, coming home a very respectable 5th. When asked what was easier childbirth or riding over the National fences, she replied: “Jumping those.”

Katie WalshIf you discount Elizabeth Taylor in the 1944 #lm ‘National Velvet, amateur jockey Katie Walsh has come closest to being the #rst woman to ride home a National Winner. !e 28-year-old sister of top jockey Ruby was backed by millions of female fans when she came in 3rd on Seabass in the 2012 Grand National – the best placing any woman has achieved

It’s been a long time since Charlotte Brew became the $rst female jockey to ride in the National back in 1977. Since then 14 female jockeys have participated in 18 Grand Nationals with Geraldine Rees becoming the $rst woman to complete the course in 1982.

Not everyone has been keen on female jockeys riding in the National though. In 2005 Ginger McCain said that a

woman jockey could never win the Grand National and that if Carrie Ford won then he would “bare his bottom.” Dick Francis was even more direct when he said: “I am #rmly against women riding in National Hunt races.”

!ere’s no stopping them though, and why should they be? Female jockeys just keep getting better and better and it can only be a matter of time before we have a woman Grand National winner.

Carrie FordIn 2005 Carrie Ford came out of retirement and caught the imagination of the nation when she looked like being the #rst female jockey with a real chance of winning the National. With odds of 8/1 and riding Forrest Gunner - a horse trained by her husband Richard - Carrie had ridden her #rst point-to-point at 16 and had her #rst win at

to date. Seabass had won his previous six starts and was trained by Katie’s dad Ted, whose horse Papillon ridden by brother Ruby triumphed in the 2000 National.

2012 was Katie’s #rst National, and she said at the time: “I’m just going out there to enjoy the whole thing — I might never ride in a National again.” On the subject of a woman winning the National she went on to say: “I think a girl’s going to win it one day and I wouldn’t mind if it was me.” Even the bookies began to believe, offering odds of 8/1 with David Williams, of Ladbrokes, saying: “!ere’s a real expectation that it could be the #rst ever ladies’ day on Grand National Saturday.”


Here�� Come�� The�� Girls!


!e End

ultimate grand national guide

Documents

dez de rivera

cheltenham

american grand

4ft 6in high

giving ginger

queen mothers

grand national

flat race