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Every year the Grand National produces very different stories from jockeys and horses alike; uplifting scenes from a victor and heartbreak when a mere inch divides the loser from the winner at the end of nearly four-and-a-half miles and thirty challenging fences. In 1839 the first winner was aptly named Lottery. Back then, huge crowds rode to Aintree by horseback, in carriages, carts or on foot. Today the Grand National is probably the world's most famous horse race, with a global television audience of some 600 million in 140 countries. This richly informed book focuses on the race's various record-breakers, rather than being a purely chronological history of this greatest of all steeplechases. Many records have stood the test of time: in 2019, Tiger Roll's second consecutive victory was the first time that the feat had been achieved since Red Rum in 1973-74. Anne Holland's authoritative history celebrates one of the world's greatest sporting spectacles. 'A well-organised and cheerily anecdotal volume' Spectator
The remarkable true story of the most exciting upset in Grand National history
The Grand National is the most famous horse race in the world. Officially first run in 1839 it is now watched in 140 countries on television with viewing figures of more than 500 million. Run in early April at Aintree, Liverpool, this spectacular steeplechase over 30 fearsome fences and four and a half miles has had a history filled with drama. In the first running a Captain Becher fell into the ditch which now bears his name. In 1956 the Queen Mother's Devon Loch looked set to win, ridden by future thriller writer Dick Francis in the saddle, only to belly flop, legs akimbo, yards from the line. In 1967 there was a pile- up at the fence before the Canal Turn allowing 100/1 outsider Foinavon ...
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Written by leading horse racing author Stewart Peters, this is the definitive history of one of the world's most famous races. Illustrated with many photographs by Bernard Parkin, racing photographer to Her Majesty the Queen, in includes stories behind each year's race, and descriptions of runners and results.
Distills the magic of the Grand National through the eyes of jockeys who, for one reason or another, did not reach the personal and professional pinnacle which the National represents - finishing with Tony McCoy, who famously won the 2010 race at his 15th attempt.
The Aintree Grand National is the world's most famous horserace - fast-paced, exhilarating and occasionally perilous. Everyone - serious racing fraternity and occasional flutterers alike - has heard of it. Millions are staked on the race, and millions watch. Down through the years it has produced many a fairytale result. This lavishly-illustrated book examines the Irish presence at Aintree from the festival's earliest years; Irish horses, jockeys, trainers and breeders have always been prominent. No two horses have ever been trained alike for Aintree and no two stories have ever been the same. They are all here, written with the attention to detail and enthusiasm of a true racing fanatic. A wide-ranging and compulsively readable account of a beloved institution.
Robin Oakley brings alive the colourful world of those who ride and train jumping horses. With elegant production and gripping images, Sixty Years of Jump Racing chronicles the social and economic changes which have brought the sport's ups and downs-like the development of sponsorships and syndicate ownership, the near loss of the Grand National, the growing domination of the Cheltenham Festival and the growth of all-weather racing to meet the bookies' demands for betting shop fodder. Pace and colour is provided by stories of the horses who have been taken to the heart of racing crowds, like the Irish-trained hurdler Istabraq and Best Mate, the three-times winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup for England. Famous rivalries and memorable races are re-lived and key victories revisited in portraits of and interviews with the owners, jockeys and trainers who have dominated the sport. The emphasis will be largely on the past fifty years-from Arkle to Tony McCoy-but a significant introduction by Edward Gillespie encapsulates the past history of what was previously known as 'National Hunt Racing' and sets the stories in context.
Aintree's Grand National is the world's most famous steeplechase, watched by 100,000 spectators on the course and by millions more television viewers in their homes. It's a race that enthralls the nation every spring, a race steeped in over 160 years of heritage peppered with unforgettable names and memories.