Grand National Facts |
51-60 |
51) The fastest time ever recorded by a National winner was by Mr Frisk in 1990 with a time of eight minutes 47.8 seconds on firm ground carrying 10 stone six. He beat the previous record set by Red Rum in 1973 of nine min 1.9 seconds. "Rummy" was receiving 23 pounds from Crisp who he just caught on the line.
52) The 1993 National goes down in history as the "race that never was". As the runners pressed forward to get a good position there was a false start but due to a breakdown in communication between the starter, Keith Brown, and the recall assistant further down the track, no clear signal was given. Some jockeys carried on regardless, while others stopped, milling about at the start. Those who raced continued to the end in the belief they were doing the right thing, but the race was declared void. It was heartbreak for Jenny Pitman, whose horse Esha Ness was first past the post.
53) After guiding Rough Quest to a length and a half victory over Encore Un Peu in 1996, jockey Mick Fitzgerald was asked by the BBC's Des Lynam what it felt like to win a National; "After that, sex is an anti-climax" was his reply!
54) Just before the 1997 National, Merseyside police received a coded warning that a bomb had been planted at Aintree and had to evacuate the course. People were forced to leave their vehicles in the car parks for the rest of the day for security reasons as searches were carried out for bombs.
Jockeys, still in their silks, also had to leave their belongings behind and many relied on the local residents to provide food and shelter for those stranded. BBC TV presenter Des Lynam was asked to leave the course during the live transmission. The race was re-arranged for the following Monday and was won by Lord Gyllene, who led nearly all the way.
55) Nineteen ninety nine winner, Bobbyjo, was trained by Tommy Carberry who won the race riding L'Escargot in 1975 (beating Aintree legend Red Rum into second in the process) and ridden by his son Paul.
56) The fence-building programme at Aintree starts approximately a month before the Grand National is run, with spruce sourced and transported from the Lake District. The total annual cost is around £20,000.
57) Since 1980, only two horses have been placed at 100-1 or greater. In 1995, Over The Deel finished third at 100-1 and in 1997 Camelot Knight repeated the feat at the same odds. Four winners in the race's history have started at 100/1: Tipperary Tim (1928), Gregalach (1929), Caughoo (1947) and Foinavon (1967) while Poethlyn (1919) is the shortest-priced winner of the race at 11/4.
58) Only twelve mares have ever won the National, the most recent being Nickel Coin in 1951. Since then, the mares Gentle Moya (2nd 1956), Tiberetta (3rd 1957 and 2nd 1958), Miss Hunter (3rd 1970), Eyecatcher (3rd 1976 and 1977), Auntie Dot (3rd 1991), Ebony Jane (4th 1994) and Dubacilla (4th 1995) have all finished in the first four.
59) Only two greys have won the Grand National - The Lamb (1868 and 1871) and Nicolaus Silver (1961). The grey Suny Bay was second to Lord Gyllene in 1997 and again behind Earth Summit the next year.
60) Horses carrying low weights, under 11 stones, have dominated recent Nationals. Bobbyjo (1999) and Lord Gyllene (1997) carried 10 stones, Earth Summit (1998) carried 10 stones 5lb, Royal Athlete (1995), Mr Frisk (1990) and Seagram (1991) 10 stones 6lb, Rough Quest (1996) and Party Politics (1992) 10st 7lb, Miinnehoma (1994) 10st 8lb and Papillon (2000) 10 st 10lb. Bobbyjo is the joint lowest-weighted horse to succeed in the last 22 years alongside Lord Gyllene (1997) and Rubstic (1979), though Hallo Dandy in 1984 would have carried the minimum weight if his jockey had not put up 2lb overweight.
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