Which horse finished third in the 1973 Grand National?

Motor racing legend Bobby Unser once said, ‘Nobody remembers the guy who finished second, but the guy who finished second’. As far as the 1973 Grand National is concerned, it would probably be fair to say that beyond the luckless Richard Pitman – who did, indeed finish second – a fair proportion of readers, of a certain age, remember the outcome.

The winner that day was, of course, the legendary Red Rum, who reeled in the front-running Crisp – who was conceding 23lb, but held a lead of 30 lengths, or more, at one point – in the shadow of the post to snatch what had appeared, for most of the way, an unlikely victory. The front pair were separated by three-quarters of a length, with a yawning 25 lengths to the third horse.

That horse was no slouch, either. It was, in fact, L’Escargot who, despite his ‘pedestrian’ name, had already won the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice, in 1970 and 1971. Indeed, L’Escargot would return to Aintree to win the Grand National, as a 12-year-old, in 1975, thereby becoming the first of just two horses to beat Red Rum in the National.

Which were the top three three-year-olds in 2021?

According to Timeform Master Ratings, three colts, namely St. Mark’s Basilica (132), Adayar (131) and Baeed (130), were neck-and-neck at the head of the three-year-old division in 2021. The first named was retired to stud after winning the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown in September, following the recurrence of an injury sustained in a freak gallops incident earlier in the season, but the other two reportedly remain in training in 2022.

Hailed by trainer Aidan O’Brien as ‘possibly the best we have ever had in Ballydoyle’, St. Mark’s Basilica was named Cartier Horse of the Year after an unbeaten three-year-old campaign. The half brother to 2,000 Guineas winner Magna Grecia comfortably won the Poule d’Essai des Poulains, a.k.a. the French 2,000 Guineas, on his reappearance at Longchamp in May and took the step up to 1 mile 2½ furlongs in his stride when following up in the Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly in June. His 3½-length defeat of Addeybb in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown in July was arguably a career-best effort, but he returned from injury to beat subsequent Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe runner-up Tarnawa in the Irish Champion Stakes.

By contrast, Adayar made a relatively low-key start to 2021, finishing runner-up in both the Classic Trial at Sandown and the Derby Trial at Lingfield. In the Derby itself, he was passed over, not for the first time, by William Buick, but belied odds of 16/1 by keeping on strongly to win by 4½ lengths and 3¼ lengths from Mojo Star and his stable companion Hurricane Lane. The following month, reunited with Buick, he became one of the rare Derby winners to run in, and win, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot, beating Mishriff by 1¾ lengths.

Owned by Shadwell Estates, following the death of Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum in March, and trained by William Haggas, Baaeed did not make his racecourse debut until June, 2021. However, the son of Sea The Stars made spectacular progress throughout the season, winning his first four starts – including the Group 3 Thoroughbred Stakes at Goodwood in July – in impressive fashion. On his first venture into Group 1 company, in the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp, in September, he landed odds of 1/2 with a smooth, 1¼-length success from Order Of Australia. On his sixth and final start of the season, he edged out the outstanding miler of recent years, Palace Pier, in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes ar Ascot in October to maintain his unbeaten record.

 

 

 

 

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!

 

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