Grand National History 1969 - 1960
Aintree Grand National 1969
"Highland Wedding" won the 1969 Grand National as the race participants dropped under forty runners for the first time in five years. The winning horse was ridden by jockey Eddie Harty and trained by well-known trainer Toby Balding who would also trainer 1989 winning horse "Little Polvier". The horse began the race at 100-9 and finished ahead of 50-1 outsider "Steel Bridge" who was ridden by Mr. Richard Pitman in second, "Rondetto" in third and "The Beeches" in fourth place.
Aintree Grand National 1968
"Red Alligator" won the 1968 Grand National ridden by Brian Fletcher who would go on to win three Grand Nationals and ride "Red Rum" to victory in 1973 and 1974. "Red Alligator" became the third horse in three years and fifth since the end of the Second World War to win while carrying over 10st in weight and began at 100-7. "Moidore's Token" finished the race third followed by "Rutherfords" in fourth as seventeen of the forty-five, which started the race, would complete the course.
Jockey Brian Fletcher who had finished third a year earlier with the same horse, "Red Alligator" would go on to have an exceptional record in the Grand National, winning as mentioned three Nationals and was a jockey who may have won more if it was not for a falling out with "Red Rum's" trainer Ginger McCain who then went on to replace Brian with jockey Tommy Stack who partnered the "Red Rum" to victory in the 1977 Grand National.
"Red Rum" raced again at Aintree in 1968, just half an hour after the Grand National was finished when the horse paired up with jockey Lestor Piggott and were both beaten by a short head in the Earl of Sefton's Plate.
Aintree Grand National 1967
For the third year in a row the race favourite would finish second in the Grand National with it this time being 15-2 "Honey End" and jockey Mr. J Gifford. The winning horse that would finish ahead of the pair was called "Foinavon" and won from 100-1 odds for jockey John Buckingham, trainer John Kempton and owner Cyril Watkins.
"Foinavon" later had a fence named after him following a strange set of events, which led to the horse having a chance at victory after a poor outing which placed him near the back of the field as the leaders headed on towards the fence after Becher's Brook. The fence was one of the smallest on the course, but was first reached by several rider less horses which refused to jump over, this caused the chasing horses to slow down as they approached the fence and either stop, throw their riders off or not have the speed to get over. This fortunately left jockey John Buckingham who watched the chaos from the back the ability to catch up, guide "Foinavon" away from the danger, jump the fence at a slower than normal pace and race on to victory.
Seventeen other horses completed the course with all being remounted, but none offered any competition to "Foinavon" from this point on with the horse finishing fifteen lengths ahead of "Honey End". "Red Alligator" ridden by Brian Fletcher finished third with Mr. T W Biddlecombe in fourth on "Greek Scholar". This year was also the year, which "Red Rum" was to make his first appearance at Aintree as a two-year-old in a five-furlong sprint finishing in a dead-heat for first with a horse named "Curlicue" the day before the Grand National.
Aintree Grand National 1966
"Anglo" won the 1966 Grand National, which would be for trainer Fred Winter his fourth and final National victory. Fred Winter first won in 1957 as a jockey and in the nine years between then and 1966 he won a second as the rider and two as trainer with those coming last year and this. Tim Norman won his one and only Grand National riding "Anglo", who was a huge outsider at 50-1 and ran for owner Mr. Stuart Levy as the horse became only the third winner of a National carrying over 10st in weight since the end of the Second World War.
Runner up in 1965 "Freddie" returned with Mr. P McCarron again in the saddle as the pair were installed as favourites for a second time, this time with odds of 11-4. The two would however never win the Grand National or finish this high again. Third place belonged to Mr. G Scott and his horse "Forest Prince" followed by "The Fossa" and jockey Mr. T W Biddlecombe who would finish well over the next few years and even ride returning Grand National winner "Gay Trip" in 1971.
A japans horse called "Fujino-o" became the fifth foreign horse to race in a National in 1966, but continued the trend set by previous horses by failing to complete the course.
Aintree Grand National 1965
In the 1965 Grand National 47 horses would begin the race just like in 1963 and again the following year in 1966, with each National having over ten horses completing the course something, which was often difficult to achieve given the congestion caused early on. This time "Jay Trump" would add his name to those that have won the event while ridden by Mr. Tommy Smith and producing a third win for jockey turned trainer Fred Winter. The team began at 100-6 and was one of fourteen finishers on the day.
The horse named "Freddie" would finish second with jockey Mr. P McCarron as 7-2 favourites with the pair also finishing in the same position in 1966 with them this year being followed in third by "Mr Jones" and "Rainbow Battle" ridden by well known Mr. G Wilburn in fourth.
Aintree Grand National 1964
"Team Spirit" and Mr. George W Robinson both returned to compete in the 1964 Grand National and actually began with wider odds that 1963m which was quite unusual given that they had finished fourth. This time the pair dropped from 13-1 to 18-1 but the odds, as always are just a guide as to how the horses should do and would not bother the two that finished ahead of the other thirty-two starters to win the National.
Second, third and fourth place finishes had unusually long odds, surprisingly many with their collective effort as much more fancied horses fell by the way side. The three horses to finish behind "Team Spirit" in the top four were "Purple Silk", "Peacetown" and "Eternal" with odds of 100-6, 40-1 and 66-1 respectively.
Aintree Grand National 1963
"Ayala" and jockey Pat Buckley won the 1963 Grand National, with the horse being trained by another Piggott, with it this time being Keith Piggott. "Ayala" was a huge outsider with starting odds of 66-1, but was definitely known to be a wise choice for the race as owner Pierre Raymond proved he had a keen eye for horses and would even win a second National over a decade later as owner of "Rag Trade".
"Carrickbeg" finished second from a large field of runners, which numbered forty-seven on the day. Twenty-two of those finished, which was an exceptionally high number to complete the race, with third and fourth place horses being "Hawa's Song" ridden by Mr. P Broderick and "Team Spirit" ridden by Mr. George W Robinson.
Aintree Grand National 1962
Jockey Fred Winter who won the 1957 Grand National on "Sundew" won for a second time in 1961 on 28-1 "Kilmore". Fred Winter would win two further Grand National, both times as a trainer in both 1965 with "Jay Trump" and the following year with "Anglo". "Wyndburgh" finished for the fourth time in the top four of a National, this time in second followed by 1958 "Mr What" third and "Gay Navarree" fourth.
The Grand National had seen something of a good change the last couple of years as seventeen horses completed the course in 1962 with 14 doing so the year before. This trend was to continue over the next few years and was a vast improvement on the 1959 and 1960 Nationals in which only twelve horses total made it past the post.
Aintree Grand National 1961
The 1961 Grand National was won by "Nicolaus Silver" a 28-1 outsider ridden by Bobby Beasley and trained by Fred Rimell. Fred Rimell had trained "E.S.B" when that horse won the 1956 Grand National and he would also go on to train "Gay Trip" to victory in 1970 and "Rag Trade" also to victory six years later in 1976. "Merryman II" finished second and was highly fancied before the race, beginning with odds of 8-1, followed by "O'Malley's Point" and "Scottish Flight II" ridden by Mr. W Rees".
Thirty-five horses lined up for the 1961 Grand National with two Russian horses amongst them as both "Relief" and "Grifel" ran, with neither finishing. "Relief" departed the race after unseating the jockey, while "Grifel" fell, was remounted and continued before pulling up later on.
Aintree Grand National 1960
The 1960 Grand National moved the event into a new era, an era of television, as it became the first of the annual races held at Aintree to be watched by those not in attendance. Commentator Peter O'Sullevan brought the race to the viewer's living rooms as he described the success of "Merryman II" who became the first horse to win the Grand National in a decade when starting the race as favourite. Gerry Scott had the privilege of being the first jockey to pass the post in a Grand National that was live on TV as the 13-2 bet pairing were etched into the history books together.
Twenty-six horses took part with eight of those finishing as "Badanloch", "Clear Profit" and "Tea Friend" were the next three to be watched crossing the finishing line ridden by jockeys Mr. S Mellor, Mr. B Wilkinson and Mr. P G Madden with all six finishing in second, third and fourth respectively.
|
