Who was the first woman to train the winner of the St. Leger?

The St. Leger is run over 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 115 yards on Town Moor, Doncaster in early September each year. Established in 1776, by the eponymous Major‐General Anthony St Leger, on Cantley Common, east of Doncaster, the St. Leger is the oldest of the five British Classics.

Remarkably, it was not until September 10, 2016, 240 years after the inaugural running, that Epsom trainer Laura Mongan became the first woman to saddle the winner of the St. Leger. On that occasion, Mongan sent out the Lawman colt Harbour Law who, according to official ratings, had 18lb to find with the odds-on favourite, Idaho, and was consequently sent off 22/1 seventh choice of the nine runners.

However, in an eventful race, Idaho stumbled and unseated jockey Seamie Heffernan with three furlongs to run, leaving Harbour Law to fight out the finish with Ventura Storm and Housesofparliament, who were officially rated 9lb and 11lb superior, respectively. Nevertheless, once galvanised by jockey George Baker in the final furlong, Harbour Law stayed in well to lead close home and beat Ventura Storm by three-quarters of a length, with Housesofparliament just a short head further behind in third place. After a stewards inquiry, the placings remained unaltered.

Reflecting on her historic victory, Mongan said, ‘It was brilliant. I think I screamed a lot. I’m in shock.’

Did two horses called Peter Simple run in the Grand National?

The short answer is yes, they did, but thankfully not in the same year. Aintree aficionados may already be aware that Peter Simple – a bay trained and ridden by Tom Cunningham, on the first occasion, and Tom Olliver, on the second – won the Grand National twice, in 1849 and 1853. Indeed, that Peter Simple, who was a 15-year-old when gallantly holding off the 1852 winer and favourite, Miss Mowbray, on the latter occasion has the distinction of being the oldest winner in the history of the Grand National.

However, the first Peter Simple to run in the Grand National was a grey, who made his debut, as a 7-year-old, in 1841, when he finished a never-nearer third, beaten 2 lengths and neck, behind Charity. In fact, that Peter Simple went on to contest the next five renewals of the Grand National, in which his complete form figures were 33PP2P.

Of course, the Jockey Club was established in 1750 and the first volume of the General Stud Book was published by James Weatherby in 1791. However, in the early, pioneering days of the Grand National, horses did not need to be registered with a unique name, as they do today, so different horses with the same name were commonplace. For the record, ‘Peter Simple’ was the title character of a novel written by Captain Frederick Marryat and first published in 1833, so the name was very much of the time.

Did suffragette Emily Davison commit suicide?

Emily Wilding Davison became a martyr to the suffragette cause when, on June 4, 1913, she was struck, and fatally injured, by the King’s horse, Anmer, during the running of the Derby at Epsom. Her intentions in dashing onto the racecourse as the backmarkers rounded Tattenham Corner are not entirely clear, but she was knocked unconscious and died at Epsom Cottage Hospital four days later from a ‘fracture at the base of the skull’ without regaining consciousness.

Various hypotheses have been proposed to explain her behaviour. Some eyewitnesses suggested that Davison ran out in a reckless suicide attempt, others that she attempted to bring down Anmer. Subsequent analysis of contemporary newsreel footage, though, suggests that she was, in fact, attempting to advertise the ‘Votes for Women’ campaign by tying a banner, or flag, to the bridle of a half-tonne racehorse galloping at full speed.

Indeed, following the tragic accident, two such banners were found on her body. The fact that Davison and fellow suffragettes were reportedly seen practising tackling horses on Morpeth Common beforehand adds weight to this argument. Historians have also pointed out that Davison was in possession of an expensive return ticket for her travel to Epsom Downs and had written a postcard to her sister, Letitia, about a proposed visit to Paris shortly afterwards.

Who was Fred Winter?

The late Fred Winter dominated the world of National Hunt racing between the early Fifties and the early Eighties, first as a jockey and afterwards as a trainer. He is rightly remembered as one of the greats of the sport and is commemorated by the Fred Winter Juvenile Novices’ Hurdle, run annually at the Cheltenham Festival.

Winter was champion jockey four times, including three in a row between 1955 and 1957, and champion trainer eight times, including five in a row between 1971 and 1975. Indeed, he remains the only person to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Grand National and Champion Hurdle as a jockey and as a trainer.

At the time of his retirement from the saddle in April, 1964, Winter had ridden a then-record 932 winners. He began training at Uplands Stables in Lambourn, Berkshire with just five horses and, by his own admission, ‘no idea’ about his training ability. Nevertheless, he won the Grand National with Jay Trump in his first season as a trainer and again, with Anglo, in his second. Winter had to wait a little longer for his one and only Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, Midnight Court, in 1978, but by that time had already won the Champion Hurdle three times, with Bula in 1971 and 1972 and Lanzarote in 1974.

Sadly, in August, 1987, Winter suffered a stroke, which left him wheelchair-bound and unable to speak or write. He was forced to cede his licence to Charlie Brooks, but had saddled 1,557 winners, imcluding 28 at the Cheltenham Festival.

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