For equestrian fans, the Grand National is the best of all horse racing events. It brings together some of the finest horses and jockeys to battle for some of the biggest prizes. It also boasts a long history, with its inaugural event happening in 1839. The Grand National is enormously popular among online horse betting punters who are provided with so many lucrative betting opportunities.
1- Red Rum’s historic treble
One of the most iconic moments in the history of the Grand National came in 1977. Red Rum twice won the prestigious race and caught the imagination of the British public that he would go on to achieve the historic treble. However, the Ginger McCain trained horse tried to achieve that honour in the following two years and failed.
And when he entered the 1977 edition of the race, there were doubts that Red Rum could pull off the remarkable feat. However, the legendary racehorse stunned all the spectators at Aintree and claimed the race in an emphatic style.
2- Foinavon’s shocking win
In the long history of the Grand National, only five horses have managed to win at 100/1 odds, and Foinavon’s name became the most famous of them all. Even the 23rd fence has been named after Foinavon. In the 1967 Grand National, his chances looked so minuscule that even his owner John Kempton wasn’t present on the racing day as he had gone to watch another of his runners at Worcester.
However, something enormously unexpected happened that day and Foinavon’s fortunes were dramatically changed. At the 23rd fence, a riderless horse caused havoc by veering suddenly to his right and causing many horses to fall. This almost brought the whole race to a stop.
As Foinavon was far behind all the other horses, so he could easily avoid the melee. It didn’t take him long to establish a huge lead and went on to win by a comfortable margin.
3- Jenny Pitman’s achievement
Jenny Pitman and Corbiere created history in 1983 when they won the Grand National. No female trainer had ever won the Grand National by the early 1980s. However, Jenny Pitman created history with Corbiere who managed to win the prestigious race in 1983. An 8-year-old horse winning the National was rare but Corbiere won it with aplomb. The amazing horse also went on to finish third in the next two editions of the race.
Jenny Pitman won her second Grand National in 1995 with Royal Athlete. However, Corbiere, one of the finest jumpers of his generation, was undoubtedly the best horse she trained.
4- AP McCoy’s Grand National victory
AP McCoy carved out a big name for himself in British horse racing. By 2010, he had ridden 3000 winners and had claimed some of the most prestigious races in Britain. However, the great jockey had still failed to land the Grand National, despite attempting 14 times. McCoy finally broke the jinx and managed to win the prestigious race with Don’t Push It in 2010.
You can find more articles in our section on Horse Racing.
