How many times has there been a Virtual Grand National?

The Virtual Grand National is, as the name suggests, a computer simulation of the world famous steeplechase. The outcome is determined by a series of step-by-step computational procedures, or algorithms, which employ a random number generator ‘weighted’ with a guide price for each horse based on its previous achievements. Nonetheless, the Virtual Grand National features all the declared runners and employs high-definition, computer-generated imagery to create a faithful reproduction of the real race.

The Virtual Grand National was first broadcast on Friday, April 7, 2017, the eve of the real-life Grand National that year, and has subsequently been broadcast in 2018, 2019 and 2020, making four times in all. In 2020, the Virtual Grand National was broadcast at 17:00 on Saturday, April 4 – the same time at which the actual race was originally scheduled – and several bookmakers offered fixed-odds prices on the outcome.

Under normal circumstances, the Virtual Grand National is intended to provide some ‘light relief’ for horse racing fans but, nevertheless, the results so far have proved remarkably accurate.The first virtual winner, Cause Of Cause, finished second in the real-life event in 2017, Tiger Roll won both races in 2018 and Tiger Roll, Rathvinden and Anibale Fly finished in the first five, albeit in a different order, in both races in 2019.

Has the Grand National ever resulted in a dead heat?

Not altogether surprisingly, in 172 runnings, the Grand National has yet to result in a dead heat. That’s not to say that the celebrated steeplechase hasn’t produced its fair share of dramatic finishes down the years. The inexplicable collapse of Devon Loch on the run-in in 1954 and the agonising defeat of Crisp by Red Rum in 1973 are two that spring to mind, but the closest finish in the history of the Grand National came in 2012.

On that occasion, Neptune Collonges, ridden by Daryl Jacob, who had only been third jumping the final fence, collared Sunnyhillboy, ridden by Richie McLernon, who had taken the lead at ‘Elbow’, halfway up the famously long run-in, in the dying stride to win by a nose. With the possible exception of the connections of Sunnyhill Boy, few could begrudge Neptune Collonges his National win. In his heyday, he was officially rated 174 and finished third, beaten 7 lengths and a short head, behind his illustrious stable companions Denman and Kauto Star in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2008. In any event, that was that for the 11-year-old, who was retired immediately after the National.

Has any horse ever won the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National in a single season?

The Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National are the two premier steeplechases run in Britain and, as such, are much-coverted prizes. Indeed, many owners, jockeys and trainers spend their entire lives dreaming of winning one or the other, never mind both.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup wasn’t run, as a steeplechase, until 1924, while the first ‘official’ Grand National was run in 1839 but, in the period that the races have co-existed, just two horses have won both. L’Escargot, trained by Dan Moore, recorded back-to-back victories in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1970 and 1971, before defeating none other than Red Rum, who was chasing an unprecedented hat-trick, in the 1975 renewal of the Grand National.

However, the legendary Golden Miller, trained by Basil Briscoe and, later, by Owen Anthony, remains the only horse ever to have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National in a single season. In fact, ‘The Miller’ won the Cheltenham Gold Cup five years running between 1932 and 1936, inclusive and following his third win, in 1934, cruised to victory in the Grand National, under 12st 2lb, and broke the course record in the process.

The Grand National was based on which previous race?

The Grand National, or at least a precursor to it, known as the ‘Grand Liverpool Steeplechase’, was founded by William Lynn, landlord of the Waterloo Inn in Liverpool, at Aintree Racecourse in 1836. Lynn was already a well-known sports promoter and had been staging race meetings, on the Flat, at Aintree since 1829. However, the inspiration for what would become the most famous steeplechase in the world did not come ‘out of the blue’ but, rather, from a pre-existing race, known as the ‘Great St. Albans Steeplechase’.

Inaugurated by another hotelier, Thomas Coleman of the Turf Hotel in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, in 1830, the Great St. Albans Steeplechase was originally run in Bedfordshire, from Harlington to Wrest Park, near Silsoe, and back again, over a total distance of approximately four miles. The first race of its kind to be staged in England, the Great St. Albans Steeplechase proved a huge success, so much so that, by 1834, it was a major event, attracting runners from all over the country. Of course, it also attracted the attention of Lynn, who devised a similar race of his own, to start and finish near the grandstands at Aintree; the rest, as they say, is history.

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