Grand winners on the
THIS month would have seen the 173rd running of the Aintree Grand National. But all sports events across the globe have ground to a halt due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Here, Chris Wright looks back at some of the most celebrated runners and riders from the vaults of the world’s most famous steeplechase...
In 1829 the first official races at Aintree were organised by a syndicate headed by the owner of Liverpool’s Waterloo Hotel, William Lynn.
Lynn leased the land from Lord Sefton, set out a course and built a grandstand. Lord Molyneux laid the foundation stone on February 7 1829, and placed a bottle full of sovereigns in the footings.
The first Flat fixture at Aintree was held five months later on July 7. A horse called Mufti won the opening race, the 1m2f Croxteth Stakes.
From then Aintree started by putting on three race meetings a year.
In 1835 Aintree staged its first National Hunt fixture but it wasn’t until 1839 that the first official running of the Grand National was held.
In 1839 the Grand National was run at Aintree for the first time on Tuesday, February 26, under the guise of the Grand Liverpool Steeplechase over four miles, with an estimated 40,000 people attending.
The obstacles included a stone wall, a stretch of ploughed land and two hurdles to finish.
A horse named Lottery, the 5-1 favourite, became the first official winner.
Captain Martin Becher was unseated from his mount, Conrad, when leading at the sixth fence on the first circuit and the fence, which is also the 22nd obstacle when jumped on the second circuit these days, became known as Becher’s Brook.
This year, 2020, would have been the 173rd running of the world’s greatest steeplechase if it hadn’t been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Here we look through the archives at the races, stories and winners from the years which began each decade.
1840 JERRY had been down to be the last of the 18 runners in 1839 when Lottery won, but he dropped out just before the race. He went on to win as a 12-1 outsider on his Grand National debut in 1840. Jerry, ridden by Batholomew Bretheron, ended up with a seemingly easy victory from what had been a hardfought race.
The 1840 Grand National, however, is far more famous because of the events surrounding another horse, Valentine. Irish amateur Alan Power was so confident in his horse that he bet they would be ahead by the wall. The pair were ahead approaching the second brook, before the horse reared violently and corkscrewed over, but still reached the other side. The brook has been known as Valentine’s ever since.
1850 Tiny in stature, but with a huge heart, the Irish-trained ABD-ELKADER became an instant favourite with the Aintree crowd when defying his build to negotiate the Grand
National fences.
Unquoted in the betting prior to his victory in 1850, the bookmakers were not so generous the following year when installing Abd-El-Kader the 7-1 joint favourite, but the handicapper seemed to have a short memory, and just 6lb higher than the previous year, he duly obliged to become the first horse in history to win the Grand National twice.
1860 The 1860s proved to be the decade for mares in the Grand National. ANATIS, the 7-2 favourite, became the third of 12 mares to win the race and the first of four in that decade. The 10-year-old, trained by HE May, landed the race on March 7 under jockey Tommy Pickernell, who went on to win the race two more times on The Lamb (1871) and Pathfinder (1875).
1870 THE COLONEL was sent off the 100-7 favourite for his first Grand National victory in 1869, although the relative confidence behind the sixyear-old may have been more reflective of his jockey George Stevens, who had already won the world’s greatest steeplechase three times, more than the form that The Colonel had shown.
Despite a hike in weights for the following year’s renewall, The Colonel attractred considerable support and the 7-2 favourite held off the challenge of The Doctor to win by half a length and hand Stevens his fifth win – a record which still stands.
1880 EMPRESS won the 1880 Grand National and was ridden by Tommy Beasley, who had also partnered Martha to finish second in 1878 and third in 1879. Due to his past performances Beasley and Empress started at 8-1 in the race which saw only 14 starters. But of those 14 there were just 10 finishers.
1890 Jockey Arthur Nightingall had finished second in 1888 and third in 1889 but he finally won the Grand National in 1890 aboard the favourite ILEX. He went off the 4-1 market leader and triumphed in good style. Pan, who Nightingall finished third on a year earlier, was again placed at the massive odds of 100-1.
1900 The winner of the 1900 Grand National, AMBUSH II, was owned by the Prince Of Wales, who a year later become King Edward VII. He was the 10th Irish-trained winner. The great Manifesto – who won the Grand National twice in 1897 and 1899 – finished third this year.
1910 Bob CHADWICK won the Grand National aboard JENKINSTOWN in 1910 having finished second 12 months earlier on Judas. The pair beat Grand Steeplechase de Paris winner Jerry M, who was ridden by Lester Piggott’s grandfather Ernie and carried top weight of 12st7lb this year. He went one better when winning the 1912 Grand National. Jenkinstown, who was receiving 30lb from Jerry M, was the second of three winners for trainer Tom Coulthwaite following Eremon in 1907. He later went on to win a third National with Grakle in 1931.
1920 TROYTOWN gave amateur rider Jack Anthony his third Grand National success, winning by 12 lengths in heavy ground. The race was worth a record £5,000. Algy Anthony, who had ridden Ambush II to victory in 1900, trained the winner.
1930 The Frank Hartigan-trained SHAUN GOILIN won the 1930 Grand National partnered by Tommy Cullinan. The horse, sent off the wellbacked 100-8 second favourite, also finished third two years later. For jockey Cullinan it was a sweet success as two years earlier when aboard Billy Barton he led until late in the race only to be beaten into second place by Tipperary Tim. Shaun Goilin, who had won the Grand Sefton Chase a year earlier, was owned by local cotton broker Walter Midwood.
1940 The Lord Stalbridge-trained and owned BOGSKAR won the final Grand National before World War II stopped the event between 1941 and 1945. Bogskar was the last sevenyear-old to win the Grand National.
1950 Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth (who became the Queen Mother on the death of her husband in 1952) had her first runner in the 1950 Grand National, Monaveen – who was jointly owned by Princess Elizabeth (the present Queen). Monaveen finished fifth but it was the Bobby Renton-trained FREEBOOTER, who beat Wot No Sun, to triumph under Irish jockey Jimmy Power.
1960 The BBC televised the race for the first time, 33 years after the initial radio coverage was first broadcast. The legendary Sir Peter O’Sullevan, Clive Graham and Peter Bromley