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Only a punt going on the videos, but my guess at For Auction would be:
Sky blue, white sleeves, red cap.
Am sure someone can confirm or correct.
Bachelors, you deserve a knighthood for services to racing quizzing. I just need to find some freetime where I can have a go at them all. Thanks for taking the time and effort.
Was about 12 short on the GN runners of 1980-85.
Sporcle is wonderful but dangerously addictive. Had to curtail my activities on there a couple of years back as I was starting to do it in work time and it had been noticed!
I’m on there under the name of Pearlyman and I’ve created a few racing quizzes of my own (a little out of date now) and a couple of music ones.
Rishi’s interview with Emma Lavelle’s niece was abysmal. Poor girl didn’t know what to say, Thommo could have done a far better job in the circumstances. Why Alastair Down and Thommo were sacrificed in place of Rishi I can’t fathom, he may be a nice guy but in front of the camera he is terrible and completely out of his depth.
I think we all know why, we just don’t dare say it.
Oh go on. Be a fearless internet warrior and say it.
Having seen a trailer for Claire’s new Saturday night programme on the Beeb, it looks like it’s recorded.
Hi Bronco, 80s racing is a favourite topic of mine, but there are others here with better memories than me. Hopefully, together we can help!
I can say that Run and Skip was 4th in the gold cup in 86 behind Dawn Run. That season, he had won the Welsh National and the Mildmay Cazalet Chase at Sandown. I don’t know if that is the race you remember though.
He also came 9th in the 1988 Gold Cup and I think fell early in the 1991 National.
Anyone know if the new production company are going to keep using this music? I will be gutted if they drop it in favour of some snazzy modern stuff. It is very nostalgic for me.
Does anyone else love the theme tune?
I thought the current theme tune WAS ‘snazzy modern stuff’.
Signed, A.Codger
He was a favourite of mine too. Here’s the 1995 John Hughes (or Topham, if you prefer)
Enjoyed reading this thread. Interesting for an unashamed nostalgist.
The discussions about Grandstand’s occasional visits to the lesser tracks have brought up two of my earliest racing viewing memories. Or at least, I think they are memories. We know that the mind plays tricks…
One would be when Jonjo broke his leg in late 1980/early 1981. I think this was being covered on Grandstand and I think it was at Bangor. Really nasty injury.
The other is just the memory of a horse that I picked, called Spiders Well. Think it may have been at Wetherby and I may have picked it as I saw Bob Champion was riding, and that was a name I recognised. So again, we’re talking probably 1981.
Perhaps someone with a better memory (or, let’s face it, who is older) than me could confirm these are not figments of my imagination!
Forgot to say thanks to Nafsasp and I look forward to any more you can come up with. The ones upthread made some interesting reading. Uncle Bing rated higher than the previous season’s Gold Cup winner? I know he was slated to run in the postponed 78 Gold Cup and subsequently won a Topham, but what did he do to rate so highly? Same for Shifting Gold.
A week or so back I found in the online archive a newspapers sweepstake kit for the 83 race, which included a few that did not ultimately line up. I may have forgotten a couple here as it goes, but the once springing to mind are…
Ashley House – we all know him
My Buck/Duck – poor print quality, wasn’t sure which it was. Neither name is familiar.
Secret Progress – ran in a Gold Cup, otherwise, don’t remember anything.
Ramyraja – am taking a guess at the spelling there, it was something like that. Again, no recollections.Thought the BBC coverage over the three days was pretty good all told. Clare was fine and Mick Fitz better than expected. Don’t think Dunwoody is quite suited to it and Persad gets no better for me.
The features were good, partic those on GN day itself. Thought they laid on the safety review stuff a bit too thick on the first two days. Clare was quite aggressive in pointing out the loose horse that went round in the Topham having got rid of Tom Scudamore at the first. Given it was the Friday, just preaching to the converted…
I’m glad I’ll be hearing less of Jim McGrath’s commentary, as he’s lost it for me. Too many cliches and errors. In the GN, I think he twice referred to Postmaster as Treacle, who had fallen already. Not sure Treacle had been picked up as a faller earlier, but this was a bit annoying as my wife had money on the Taaffe horse, and was sure it was still involved while I was sure it wasn’t.
I hope C4 will do it ok. The commentary will be fine, and I hope the features will be more than just Francome/Plunkett/Whoever visiting a stable. We’ll have to live with the ads, but hope that 30-second Betfair(?) insert is done away with.
I wonder why there is no outrage when there is an equine fatality on a wet Wednesday at Wincanton? Out of sight out of mind.
I don’t mind tinkering with the race. Reducing the number of runners might help. Fence alterations might help. But what happens when they do all that and there’s still a horse fatality? Will they have done enough?
If the Grand National is becoming morally repugnant, then I assume it will be phased out through lack of interest. People will stop betting on it. People will stop watching it. And as the nation is so appalled at animal exploitation, the nation will no longer eat its collective Sunday Roast the day afterwards.
Le Beau bai and Always Waining withdrawn at final stage. Hello Bud and Neptune Equester sneak in.
Not one for mudlovers then…?
According to the Glasgow Herald of 31 March 1976, there were 37 4-day decs for the National later that week. 32 started, so we can deduce that those coming out were…
Notification (never heard of)
Otter Way
Credit Call (another Foxhunter, I believe)
Straight Vulgan
Vulgan TownIn the RP story where Dessie Hughes outlines riding plans, there is no mention of Roberto Goldback, so he may be out. The Waley-Cohens’ Roulez Cool also listed as doubtful on the RP card.
I think in terms of numbers, Giles Cross would make it, but doubtful if the weather will make it worth their while. Some rain is forecast this week, but possibly not enough. Shame, as I would like to see him give it a go.
My (uninspired) two against the field at the moment are Cappa Bleu and Killyglen.
For the three of interested in these things.
Have found that Google stores a lot of free newspaper archives. Mostly American but some local British ones as well. Have been looking through some Scottish papers’ coverage of Nationals of yore, and this is for useful for seeing the National runners that weren’t.
I’ll post more if I get chance, but will leave you with findings for 1978. Seems that some that were at least left in with a few days to go, but not in the final field were:
Bar Rock
Cantabet
Timmie’s Battle (a Foxhunter-type?)With Red Rum and Forest King declared to run but ultimately withdrawn.
Will keep looking for other stuff.
Re. Hilly Way. I read recently, courtesy of the excellent Grand National Anorak website, that Hilly Way was eventually bought by Pat O’Connor and ran in a couple of Tophams in the early 80s. That was 82 and 83 though, and while Pat’s colours were light blue with a black cap, I don’t know if he’d got him for the 1980 QM Champion Chase (which I haven’t seen). My instinct says not but I have no proof.
So, not very helpful, but maybe interesting!
On edit – it looks like Hilly Way was still trained by Peter McCreery when he ran in 1980 but no mention of the owner. Incidentally, he did also run in the QM Chase when under Pat O’Connor in 1982.
