National Milestones

1837: THE DUKE wins the first Great Liverpool Steeplechase at Maghull, some three miles from the present site of Aintree.

1839: Aintree becomes the new home for the event, with LOTTERY carrying off the prize and Captain Martin Becher christening the now-famous brook as he crawls in for safety.

1847: MATTHEW records the first Irish-trained victory on the day the race is officially named the Grand National.

1897: MANIFESTO, the 6-1 favourite, records the first of his two wins. He ran eight times up to the age of 16, also finishing third three times and fourth once.

1934: The legendary GOLDEN MILLER becomes the only horse ever to win the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup in the same season.

1947: CAUGHOO beats 56 opponents at a mist-shrouded Aintree and is then accused of only going round once.

1956: DEVON LOCH and jockey Dick Francis, looking certain to give the Queen Mother victory when clear on the run-in, suddenly sprawls flat on the ground yards from the winning post, allowing ESB to win.

1967: The year of the horrific pileup at the 23rd. John Buckingham and complete outsider FOINAVON avoid the melee and gallop on to a 100-1 win.

1977: RED RUM rewrites the record books with his third victory. ‘Rummy’ had five runs, with three wins and two seconds, from the age of eight to 12.

1981: ALDANITI, nursed back from career-threatening injury three times, wins a fairytale National ridden by Bob Champion, who fought, and beat, cancer.

1982: Dick Saunders, at the age of 48, becomes the oldest winning jockey on GRITTAR.

1983: CORBIERE’s victory ensures Jenny Pitman goes into the history books as the first woman to train the winner.

1993: The darkest day in the history of the National. There is chaos after a second false start as most of the field continue. John White passes the post first on the Jenny Pitman-trained ESHA NESS, only to discover the race has been declared void.

1997: A bomb hoax causes Aintree to be evacuated, but the great race is staged two days late and is won in spectacular style by LORD GYLLENE.

2009: MON MOME becomes the biggest-priced winner since Foinavon when powering home at 100-1 for trainer Venetia Williams and jockey Liam Treadwell.

2010: DON’T PUSH IT, trained by Jonjo O’Neill, provides perennial champion jockey Tony McCoy with his first success at the 15th attempt.

2012: NEPTUNE COLLONGES becomes the first grey to win since Nicolaus Silver in 1961.