Has a horse won the Grand National, Champion Hurdle, and Cheltenham Gold Cup?
The history of the Grand National dates back to 1839, while the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle were inaugurated in 1924 and 1927, respectively. However, in the best part of a century since the three races have co-existed, no horse has ever won all three. In fact, in all that time, just two horses have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Grand National and just one has won the Champion Hurdle and Cheltenham Gold Cup.
As far as the Cheltenham Gold Cup – Grand National double is concerned, the first horse to win both premier steeplechases was Golden Miller, who confirmed his ‘legendary’ status by winning both races in history in 1934; ‘The Miller’ remains the only horse to do so in the same season. In 1970 and 1971, L’Escargot recorded back-to-back victories in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and, four years later, as a 12-year-old, comfortably beat none other than Red Rum in the 1975 Grand National. The Champion Hurdle – Cheltenham Gold Cup double was completed by Dawn Run who, in 1984, became the second mare to win the Champion Hurdle and, two years later, entered racing folklore with a gutsy, rallying victory over Wayward Lad in the 1986 Cheltenham Gold Cup.