Has Nicky Henderson ever won the Grand National?

The short answer is no he hasn’t; neither has he won the Irish, Scottish or Welsh Grand National. That said, Henderson is, without question, one of the leading National Hunt trainers of his generation. Formerly assistant trainer to the legendary Fred Winter, Henderson began training in his right in 1978 and has since saddled over 3,000 winners, including 70 at the Cheltenham Festival. He was won the trainers’championship six times, most recently in 2019/20, the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice and the King George VI Chase three times.

However, for all his success elsewhere, victory in the Grand National remains elusive. Despite over four decades of trying, Henderson has achieved no better than second place. In fact, he secured that position with his first ever runner in the National, Zongalero, who was beaten 1½ lengths by Rubstic in 1979 and, again, with The Tsarevitch, who was beaten 5 lengths by Maori Venture in 1987. Nevertheless, Henderson remains philosophical about his lack of succes in the Grand National. Interviewed prior to the 2021 renewal – in which he saddled, OK Corrall, who was pulled up at the fence before Becher’s Brook on the second circuit – he said, ‘I’m not saying I would retire on the spot if I won it, as I wouldn’t, but it would be awfully nice to win the race.’

Which were the top three older horses in 2021?

Remarkably, according to Timeform, the leaders in the older horse division in 2021 – Mishriff (131), Subjectivist (130) and Torquator Tasso (130) – were separated by just 1lb. All three horses are likely to return to training, as five-year-olds, in 2022, although Subjectivist did suffer a potentially career-threatening leg injury when winning the Gold Cup at Ascot in June.

Owned by Prince Faisal bin Salman and trained by John and Thady Gosden, Mishriff made the perfect start to 2021 by winning the most valuable race in the world, the Saudi Cup at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in February. He followed up in the Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in March, but did not race again until early July. Only third, beaten 3¾ lengths, behind St. Mark’s Basilica in the Coral-Eclipse, he subsequently failed by 1¾ lengths to concede 10lb weight-for-age to Derby winner Adayar in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. However, Mishriff returned to his best form with an impressive, 6-length defeat of Alenquer in the Juddmonte International Stakes at York in August.

The aforementioned injury limited Subjectivist to just two runs in 2021, but that didn’t stop Mark Johnston’s colt from creating a highly favourable impression. The son of Teofilo was already a Group 1 winner, having made all to win the Prix-Royal Oak, over 1 mile 7½ furlongs, at Longchamp on his final start as a three-year-old. However, he improved again for the step up to two miles and beyond, readily winning the Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan in March and following up, impressively, in the Gold Cup at Ascot. Johnston has said that he will ‘make an attempt to bring him back’ to defend his title in 2022.

Trained in Germany by Marcus Weiss, Torquator Tasso made an inauspicious start to the campaign when only sixth of seven in the Grosser Preis der RP Gruppe at Mulheim on his reappearance in June. However, after teaming up with jockey Rene Piechulek, he won three of his four remaining starts, including the Grosser Preis von Baden at Baden-Baden in September and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in October. Weiss admitted, before the latter race, that it ‘would be a fairy-tale’ if Torquator Tasso won, but win he did, defying odds of 72/1!

 

Which horse holds the course record for the Grand National?

The course record for the Grand National was set in 1990 and, even allowing for the fact that the Grand National distance was shortened slightly in 2013, when the start position was moved forward, as a safety measure, is unlikely to ever be broken. Starting with the 2013 renewal of the Grand National, Jockey Club Racecourses, which owns Aintree Racecourse, announced that the course would be routinely watered, to provide going that was never again faster than ‘good to soft’.

Since then, the fastest winning time in the National was the 8 minutes 56.8 seconds recorded, on good to soft going, by the 2015 winner Many Clouds. That was, in fact, just the second sub-nine-minute winning time in the history of the world famous steeplechase, but still nowhere near the course record set by Mr. Frisk 25 years previously. Ridden by Marcus Armytage – coincidentally the last amateur jockey to win the National – Mr. Frisk had the advantage of running in the last-ever renewal contested on ‘firm’ going and came home in a time of 8 minutes 47.8 seconds. Barring drastic changes, his name is written, indelibly, into the record books.

Which were the top three staying hurdlers in 2020/21?

According to Timeform, the top three – or, in fact, the top four – staying hurdlers in 2020/21 were all trained in Ireland. They were, in order of preference, Flooring Porter (164), Sire Du Berlais (161) and, jointly, Beacon Edge (160) and Klassical Dream (160).

Trained by Gavin Cromwell, Flooring Porter began the 2020/21 season in handicap company but, after a 5lb rise in the weights for being beaten at Gowran Park on his reappearance in early October, made remarkable improvement. On his next start, at Navan in early December, he earned himself another 14lb rise after easily winning a better handicap by 12 lengths from the Bosses Oscar. Stepped up to Grade 1 company for the first time in the Leopardstown Christmas Hurdle just over three weeks later, he once again made all the running to beat the Storyteller by 6 lengths. He did not run again until the Cheltenham Festival, where he was only seventh choice of the 15 runners in the Stayers’ Hurdle, at 12/1, but travelled and jumped well to win, unchallenged, by 3¾ lengths from Sire Du Berlais.

Winner of the Pertemps Network Final at the 2020 Cheltenham Festival, Sire Du Berlais narrowly won the Lismullen Hurdle at Navan on his reappearance in November. Thereafter, he was restricted to just two runs, at Leopardstown and Cheltenham and proved no match for Flooring Porter on either occasion.

Beacon Edge recorded two routine wins in lesser races at the start of the 2020/21 and, in fact, was only beaten three-quarters of a length by subsequent Champion Hurdle winner Honeysuckle in the

Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse in November. He also won his preparatory race for the Cheltenham Festival, the Boyne Hurdle at Navan in February, but could finish only fourth, beaten 5½ lengths, in the Stayers’ Hurdle. On his final start of the season, he lined up alongside Flooring Porter and the 2019 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner Klassical Dream, who was making his first start for 16 months, in the Champion Stayers’ Hurdle at Punchestown in April. Flooring Porter ran inexplicably badly, being pulled up before the final flight and Beacon Edge fell at the second last, leaving Klassical Dream to readily land the spoils.

 

 

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