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Very tricky. I could have picked any one of the great moments already mentioned (plus hundreds more). Settling for Run For Free beating Merry Master in the 1993 Scottish National though. He’d been left at the start, didn’t look too keen for the first circuit trailing the field and still managed to get up under top weight.
On the flat it’d have to be Star Appeal winning the 1975 Arc as I’d backed him (or rather my dad did on my behalf as I was too young). Even at a shilling each way, at 118-1 it was a tidy profit! I never thought the horse got the credit he deserved (won the Eclipse that year too).
Without doubt Desert Orchids GC. Doesnt appear to have been mentioned but surely the most charismatic endeering horse of our lifetimes winning the big race when everything was stacked up against him?
As for live racing, Sprinter turning that bend was spine tingling. That Kauto run at Kempton and so many others. master minded extraordinary first CH etc
One personal favoutrite was Katchit winning the CH. A horse derided by “experts” and of course the stat obsessives. I loved the game little thing and was there on the day on a good AP price
Frankels 2000 guineas on flat was perhaps the most WTF moment in my memory
Always remember more fondly the events attended live, where you get that extra perspective with the atmosphere and all that. Unfortunately, the older and more cynical I become about the path the sport is taking( but that’s an entirely different subject), then ‘live’ events for me are few and far between. On the flat I will give special mention to Commanche Run beating Oh So Sharp in the B&H and Frankel winning the same race 27 years later.Over the jumps, Rummy’s third National, a card that also included the Night Nurse, Monksfield, dead heat; Dawn Runs’Gold Cup, Denman’s Gold Cup…..but for the best I will pick one of those occasions that you are proud to say ‘I was there’. The equivalent in footy would be picking some end to end FA Cup fourth round replay over a Champions League or European Cup final. So, I will nominate the 1979 Embassy Premier Chase Final, where Silver Buck came out ahead in a long fought duel with Night Nurse.The race was due to be run in it’s normal January slot, but the meeting was abandoned and it was eventually run on a Friday in early March. In recent times, I will also give honourable mention to another duel,in the 2009 Betfair Chase involving Kauto Star and Imperial Commander.The cameras don’t convey how dark it was when that race was run.
Just so much wish I had a camera to have got snaps of the likes of Sea Pigeon, Monksfield and Night Nurse. They seemed to appear regularly, hardly a couple of weeks would go by without one appearing somewhere at a racecourse near you.
Dawn Run’s Gold Cup. I’d backed Wayward Lad, surely the best chaser not to win the thing,and for a moment looked like he was finally going to do it.
As we all know things panned out a bit differently and with Peter O’Sullevan’s sublime commentary, she’s going to get up, the mare’s going to get up, I found myself cheering against my favourite horse and who i’d also backed. A wonderful race.
Best horse I ever saw run was a horse called A Sure Row for the Dickinsons at bangor many years ago in a novice chase. It beat The Langholm Dyer of Gordon Richards by a mile.
Had a massive future but if I recall only ran twice after.
At the time the Richards horse would have been considered top class but was beaten out of sight.
Shame how some racehorses could have been top class or possibly top class but injury curtails their career.Chris, just getting a chance now to look at your channel. Between that and the website it looks like a lifelong labour of love.
I used to work at Aintree and spent a couple of hours walking round the old County Stand with Jim Topham the month before they pulled the stand down. Jim was the last of the Topham family (he still had a big house on the course at the time). I took some video of the old stand but God knows where the tape has gone. I hope to find it again and if so will send you a copy.
Thanks Joe, that must have been fascinating. I have to admit I’ve never been there but have been hooked on the race since I was six when one of the earliest childhood memories was formed, it was 1967!
After Rule The World won I realised that in none of my many books on the National nor on the web is there any detailed continuous, accurate and up to date record of the race starting from 1836. I soon discovered the online British Newspaper Archive and have spent most of the time since compiling by hand from all available sources the facts for each renewal including a description of how each horse ran, where departed, etc. Plus course changes for and a discussion of each race which contains my foolhardy attempt to compare and rate the best performances!
I learnt how to create a website, setting up a skeleton of it, and am a couple of weeks away from being able to start the typing in. When that is done I’ll commence on indexes for horses, trainers and jockeys, however, I want to add a general sentence about as many entries as possible so will be doing more research as I go. In my wildest moments of optimism I hope to launch the site in two years but three is probably more likely!
Chris, at the end I think you’ll have the unique achievement of having put together the most accurate history of the Grand National.
Reg Green somehow got himself classified as the GN historian. He was a very nice man and knew a fair bit but his accuracy has been questioned many times.
You might want to think about a book as well as a website.
BTW, Chris, here’s an old blog post of mine that might be of some interest. http://wp.me/p1o7dN-La
Thanks Colin and Joe. I’ve subscribed to your blog, Joe, that is a fantastic post, you’ve been very privileged. I don’t often read fiction but will definitely be giving your and Richard’s books a try.
As for a book myself, I fear it would be a prohibitively expensive coffee table tome! Already, without indexes, I have nearly 400 A4 narrow ruled pages. The beauty of a website is it can be updated and altered. I’ll be inviting National aficionados to provide extra and missing info, enter discussions and challenge my assertions, correct the inevitable typos and bad grammar, and suggest ideas for the site. After launch I’ll continue researching and may go into more depth about some issues. Initially the focus is centred on the races. Were you working on the bomb scare Saturday, Joe?
Yes, Reg Green’s book, in some ways a key one, has many inaccuracies and now, of course, is out of date. Most of the books and websites are similar yet each has plenty of good points. Sources, including newspapers from 1836 on, are often contradictory so I’ve tried to employ logic and reason to find the truth, however, some things we will never know for sure. John Pinfold has written some interesting books, ‘Aintree: The History of the Racecourse’ is fascinating – but I’ll be challenging some of his conclusions!
I was indeed there for the bomb scare – a weekend I’ll never forget. Nigel Payne’s book, Everyone Must Leave, a good account of that event.
I wouldn’t rule out finding a publisher despite the challenges. One of the blue chip publishers might be proud to sign up the definite GN history.
Good luck with it. I’ll follow with much interest.
Joe<p abp=”419″>Thanks Joe, that must have been fascinating. I have to admit I’ve never been there but have been hooked on the race since I was six when one of the earliest childhood memories was formed, it was 1967!
<p abp=”420″>After Rule The World won I realised that in none of my many books on the National nor on the web is there any detailed continuous, accurate and up to date record of the race starting from 1836. I soon discovered the online British Newspaper Archive and have spent most of the time since compiling by hand from all available sources the facts for each renewal including a description of how each horse ran, where departed, etc. Plus course changes for and a discussion of each race which contains my foolhardy attempt to compare and rate the best performances!
<p abp=”421″>I learnt how to create a website, setting up a skeleton of it, and am a couple of weeks away from being able to start the typing in. When that is done I’ll commence on indexes for horses, trainers and jockeys, however, I want to add a general sentence about as many entries as possible so will be doing more research as I go. In my wildest moments of optimism I hope to launch the site in two years but three is probably more likely!
Somewhere in this house I have a book giving a summary of Grand National winner. From memory it was written just over 100 years ago. I bought it in auction many years ago. I’ll try to find it but since I have around a 1000 books on all manner of subjects, it could take time or it could take 5 minutes; I’ll start the search, tonight.
Thanks, KB, it sounds like it may be Finch Mason’s ‘Heroes and Heroines of the Grand National’ which, fortunately, I have a PDF of so please don’t waste your evening seeking it. But thanks again and if you discover any racing annuals, Chaseform style, for between 1910 and 1950 I would be interested to know where they say horses fell, etc.
My three favourite racing moments:
– Kauto Star’s 2011 Betfair chase win (as an 11yo). I was always a massive fan and followed him from his first Tingle Creek throughout the rivalry with Denman and then their dethroning by the young buck Long Run. Kauto had looked on the wane when he showed true heart to win this against his conqueror. Some horses just understand that they need to have their head in front. An emotional come-back moment followed up by another win in his favourite race the King George.
– Sea The Star’s 2009 Arc win. I remember him winning the 2000 guineas and funnily enough I actually wanted Fame and Glory to win the Derby against him. After he won the Derby it was love and I followed him all season. I was very nervous before the race and could barely watch it. I remember the commentary by Jim McGrath as Sea The Stars tried to weave his way to the front in the home straight – “he’ll have to be a champion to do it”. I often rewatch the replay and relive the moment.
– Amberleigh House’s 2004 Grand National (as a 12yo). This little horse had a good record in the race but was getting long in the tooth. He just economically cantered around Aintree in the middle of the field for the whole race whilst others did something more fancy in front. Turning into the home straight he was miles back but just kept on staying and creeping closer until he mugged Clan Royal near the line. It was a canny ride from Graham Lee showing that conservation of energy is massively important in the GN. Luckily my dad had recorded C4 racing (on VCR!) that day so I could rewatch the analysis.
I think that’s the one and though I didn’t find it I know it’s here somewhere. I’ll stop an immediate search but check back if I find it and it’s not the Mason book. I’ve seen thousands of racing books at auctions including rafts of stud books. I don’t know how you research but there are book sale sites like http://www.abebooks.com but you need to know the precise title or search by author. There’s a book auction in my nearest town, this week. It’s the part contents of a well-known bookshop in Lincoln. The old guy died suddenly having been carrying boxes of books only the day before; he was 93. Here’s a link and you’ll need to click on the download button for the 26th:
http://www.perkinsgeorgemawer.co.uk/auctions-lincolnshire/fine-art-antiques/
I’ve seen plenty of racing stuff in there, previously.
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