Category: Grand National

On March 29, 1947, on heavy going, with thick fog reducing visibility to a hundred yards, a mammoth field of 57 runners assembled for the Grand National. The race was won by 100/1 outsider Caughoo, owned by Dublin jeweller John McDowell – who reportedly bought him ‘for his mother’ for £50 – trained by his brother, Herbert, and ridden by Edward ‘Eddie’ Dempsey.

The race was covered by Gaumont British News and the newsreel footage clearly shows Caughoo tackling long-time leader Lough Conn soon after the Anchor Bridge Crossing and, despite a mistake at the final fence, drawing away in the closing stages to win, very easily, by 20 lengths. Remarkably, Daniel McCann, jockey of Lough Conn, accused Dempsey of loitering in the fog near the twelfth fence, thereby missing out an entire circuit of the Grand National Course, and rejoining the race when the field passed that point for a second time.

Dempsey denied the accusations, McCann took legal action, and lost, but rumours of wrongdoing rumbled on for years afterwards. Indeed, Dempsey and Caughoo were not finally absolved until 1999, when the ‘Irish Mirror’ revealed photographs on the horse jumping Becher’s Brook twice during the 1947 Grand National. Dempsey did, at one point, confess to having ‘hidden behind a haystack’ – of which there were none at Aintree – on Caughoo, but may have concocted a fanciful version of events, by way of raising funds.

In short, since the first official running of the Grand National, in 1839, just two winners have been trained in Scotland. The first of them was Rubstic, owned by former Rugby Union international John Douglas, trained by John Leadbetter, near Denholm in the Scottish Borders, and ridden by Maurice Barnes. Sent off at 25/1, the 10-year-old was involved in a ding-dong battle with his nearest pursuers, Zongalero and Rough And Tumble, before drawing away close home to win by 1½ lengths.

Unfortunately, his historical victory was marred by the death of Alverton, ridden by Jonjo O’Neill, who was attempting to become the first horse since Golden Miller, in 1934, to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National in the same season. The 6/1 favourite was going well at Becher’s Brook on the second circuit, but breasted the fence, fell on his head, broke his neck and was killed instantly.

The second Scottish-trained winner of the Grand National was One For Arthur in 2017. Owned by Belinda McClung and Deborah Thomson, collectively known as ‘Two Golf Widows’, trained by Lucinda Russell, near Kinross in the Scottish Lowlands, and ridden by Derek Fox, One For Arthur arrived at Aintree at the top of his game. He had won twice and finished a staying on third in the Becher Chase, over the National fences, on his last three starts and, consequently, was sent off fifth favourite, at 14/1, for the National itself. Having travelled and jumped well, he took the lead between the final two fences and stayed on well to beat Cause Of Causes by 4½ lengths.

The short answer is four, although it’s important to note that the undisputed ‘Queen of Aintree’, Jenny Pitman, trained two winners. The redoubtable ‘Mrs. P.’, as she was affectionately known, shattered the glass ceiling when saddling Corbiere, ridden by a youthful Ben de Haan, to victory, by an ever-diminishing three-quarters of a length, over Greasepaint in 1983. Not satisfied with becoming the first woman to train the winner of the Grand National, twelve years later, in 1995, Jenny Pitman repeated the dose with Royal Athlete. Third in the Cheltenham Gold Cup two seasons previously, the 12-year-old was sent off at 40/1 at Aintree, but led for most of the second circuit and stayed on strongly to beat the 1992 winner Party Politics by 7 lengths.

It was another 14 years until Venetia Williams added her name to the Grand National roll of honour, courtesy of shock winner Mon Mome, in 2009. Beaten favourite in the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow the previous December, Mon Mome was sent off at 100/1 at Aintree after a run of indifferent form. However, under the late Liam Treadwell, he returned to form in no uncertain terms, leading soon after the final fence and drawing clear on the run-in to beat the 2008 winner Comply Or Die by 12 lengths.

Four years later, in 2013, Auroras Encore, trained by Sue Smith near Baildon, West Yorkshire, caused another surprise when defying odds of 66/1 to win the Grand National by 9 lengths under debutant jockey Ryan Mania. Four years later still, in 2017, the well-fancied One For Arthur, trained by Lucinda Russell, near Kinross in the Scotland, became the latest horse trained by a woman to win the Grand National, beating Glenfarclas Chase winner Cause Of Causes by 4½ lengths at odds of 14/1.

The Grand National is run over two full circuits of a flat, triangular course, 2 miles 2 furlongs in extent. Often described as the ‘ultimate test of horse and rider’, the Grand National takes in a total of 30 distinctive, spruce-covered fences, 16 of which are jumped on the first circuit and 14 on the second.

The fences that are jumped just once during the Grand National are the final two on the first circuit, namely The Chair and the Water Jump. Standing 5’2″ high and preceded by 6′ wide ditch on the take-off side, The Chair is both the tallest and broadest obstacle on the Grand National course. The ground on the landing side is actually 6″ higher than that on the take-off side, making The Chair a formidable obstacle, especially for inexperienced horses.

By contrast, the Water Jump stands just 2’9″ high, but features an expanse of water, 8’10” wide and 6″ deep, on the landing side. Thus, from the point of take-off, horses must cover a total horizontal distance of 14’4″ to clear the fence and the water beyond. Positioned as it is, right in front of the grandstands, the Water Jump provides a thrilling spectacle for viewers. On the second circuit of the Grand National, having jumped the thirtieth and final fence, runners tack right, bypassing The Chair and the Water Jump, and set off up the infamously long, 494-yard run-in to the winning post.