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Mr Frisk

admin March 5, 2026

Owned by Lois Duffey, trained by Kim Bailey and ridden by amateur Marcus Armytage, Mr Frisk won the 1990 Grand National in a time of 8 minutes and 47.80 seconds, smashing the previous record set by Red Rum in 1973 and posting the first sub-nine-minute National. The winter of 1989/90 was one of the driester and warmest on record, such that by the time April 7, 1990 rolled around, in the absence of a watering system, the going at Aintree was officially described as ‘firm’. Nowadays, the Grand National is run over a distance a furlong-and-a-half shorter than it was in 1990, but the course is judiciously watered, when required, to provide going on the softer side of good, so it is conceivable that the course record may never be broken.

Mr Frisk warned up for the Grand National with a creditable fourth, under Armytage, in the Kim Muir Challenge Cup at the Challenge Cup. An exuberant jumper, he was in his element on the sun-baked ground at Aintree and sent off at 16/1 to make a winning Grand National debut. He was ridden prominently, but the complexion of the race changed when Uncle Merlin, who had made most of the running, blundered and unseated Hywel Davies at Becher’s Brook on the second circuit.

Left in the lead sooner than expected, Armytage refused to panic and, although challenged by the well-fancied Durham Edition from the final fence, did not reach for his whip until the famous Elbow, halfway up the run-in. When he did, Mr Frisk responded to his urgings and held on well to beat Durham Edition by three-quarters of a length, a little more comfortably than the winning distance might suggest.

Three weeks after his Grand National triumph, Mr Frisk was sent off favourite for the Whitbread Gold Cup (now the bet365 Gold Cup) at Sandown Park. He jumped well and made all the running, beating the luckless Durham Edition eight lengths into second place. In so doing, he became the first and, so far, only horse to win both races in the same season. Mr Frisk returned to Aintree for the 1991 Grand National but, on unfavourable rain-softened ground, was tailed off when pulled up after Becher’s Brook on the second circuit.

Hedgehunter

admin March 5, 2026

Owned by the late Trevor Hemmings and trained by Willie Mullins, Hedgehunter made his Grand National debut, as an eight-year-old, in 2004, when he was ridden by David Casey. Saddled with 10st 12lb and sent off at 11/1, behind 10/1 co-favourites Bindaree, Clan Royal, Joss Naylor and Juracon II, he was a close third when falling at the final fence.

Hedgehunter returned to Aintree for the 2005 Grand National, in which Ruby Walsh replaced Casey, who had ridden him to victory in the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse on his previous start. Off a handicap mark 3lb higher than the previous year, he was sent off clear 7/1 favourite to redeem himself and justified his lofty market position with something in hand.

Hedgehunter did give his supporters one slightly anxious moment when Walsh briefly lost an iron at the fence before Becher’s Brook on that second circuit. That problem, though, was nothing compared to those faced by 9/1 second-favourite Clan Royal, ridden by Tony McCoy, whose breast girth broke early in the race and was eventually carried out when a loose horse ran down Becher’s Brook on the second circuit, when six lengths in the lead.

Gifted the lead, Walsh made the best of his way home and, although one of 10 horses still in with a realistic chance of winning approaching the second-last fence, Hedgehunter never really looked like being beaten. He led by four lengths over the final fence and on the run-in drew further and further clear, passing the post 14 lengths ahead of his nearest pursuer, 40/1 chance Royal Auclair, with 66/1 chance Simply Gifted a head behind in third place.

Hedgehunter also ran in the Grand National again in 2006, 2007 and 2008. In 2006, just over three weeks after finishing a close second in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, he humped top weight of 11st 12lb into second place, six lengths behind the winner, Numbersixvalverde. Hedgehunter carried the same welter again in 2007 and 2008, but was well beaten on both occasions. He was retired after running in the Grand National for the fifth time, at which point Mullins said, “He has been a very special horse, and provided me with the highlight of my training career by winning the National.”

Foinavon

admin March 5, 2026

Of the 16 fences on the Grand National Course at Aintree, just three – Becher’s Brook, Valentine’s Brook and Foinavon – bear the names of previous participants in the renowned steeplechase. The last-named is jumped as the seventh and twenty-third fence during the Grand National and, somewhat ironically, is one of the smallest on the course, measuring just 4’6″ in height.

The fence has borne the name ‘Foinavon’ since 1984, when it was officially named in honour of the 1967 Grand National winner, who took advantage of a mêlée at the obstacle on the second circuit to steal a march on his rivals. Trained by John Kempton and ridden by John Buckingham, Foinavon was saddled with the minimum weight of 10st 0lb in the Grand National, yet sent off at 100/1, despite having contested the King George VI Chase at Kempton and the Cheltenham Gold Cup – albeit unsuccessfully – earlier in the 1966/67 season.

In any event, two riderless horses, Popham Down, who had been brought down at the first fence, and April Rose, who had fallen at the third, led the remaining 28 runners into the twenty-third fence, but the former refused and ran down the fence, causing mayhem. With the exception of Foinavon, all the runners fell, unseated rider, refused or were brought down, leaving Buckingham in splendid isolation at the head of affairs. The winning jockey said afterwards, “…we were just on our own. I couldn’t believe it. It was wonderful.”

Gifted a 30-length lead, Foinavon was not for catching. Many of his rivals, headed by the favourite, Honey End, trained by Ryan Price and ridden by Josh Gifford, set off in hot pursuit, but Foinavon galloped on relentlessly and, at the finish line, was still 15 lengths ahead. Buckingham, 26, who was having his first ride in the Grand National later said of his winning mount, “Three jockeys had turned him down. They asked me and I mean I’d have ridden Dick’s donkey to be in the Grand National.” Neither owner Cyril Watkins nor trainer John Kempton were at Aintree to witness their highly fortuitous victory.

Devon Loch

admin March 3, 2026

It’s an old adage that there is always a story in the Grand National, but any such story is usually attached to the winner of the world famous steeplechase. Not so in 1956, though, when a horse that failed to win produced “the most sensational Grand National Aintree has ever seen”, according to British Pathé News.

The horse in question was Devon Loch, owned by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, trained by Peter Cazalet and ridden by Dick Francis. Far from unfancied at 100/7, Devon Loch appeared to have taken the measure of his nearest pursuer, ESB, trained by Fred Rimmell and ridden by Dave Dick, when drawing five lengths clear on the run-in. Inexplicably, though, almost in the shadow of the winning post, Devon Loch fly-jumped into the air and slithered to the floor in an undignified belly-flop. Francis, who had remained in the saddle during the incident, attempted, unsuccessfully, to rouse his mount as ESB galloped by to win by 10 lengths. Devon Loch took no further part and was listed as a non-finisher.

Exactly what happened to Devon Loch remains something of an abiding mystery. Theories for his untimely demise include a patch of false ground, a sudden attack of cramp in his hindquarters and confusion over the shadow of the nearby water jump, which runners negotiate on the first circuit of the Grand National Course, but not the second. Granted that the incident took place right in front of the grandstands, Francis himself favoured the explanation that Devon Loch was startled by an unusually loud roar from the crowd, in anticipation of a Royal winner. After repeatedly reviewing newsreel footage, he said, “…you see the horse prick his ears and his hindquarters just refused to work.” Ever philosophical, the Queen Mother famously said, simply, “Oh, that’s racing.”

Devon Loch recovered quickly but, interestingly, suffered similar, but less severe, symptoms on what proved to be the final start of his career at Sandown Park. Following his retirement from racing, he became a hack for trainer Noel (later Sir Noel) Murless at Warren Place, Newmarket and was humanely euthanised during the winter of 1962/63.

Aldaniti

admin March 3, 2026

A cursory glance at the record books reveals that the 1981 Grand National was won by the 10/1 second favourite, Aldaniti, owned by Nick Embiricos, trained by Josh Gifford and ridden by Bob Champion. However, the bare outcome does not tell the whole story, which led Brough Scott to write in the ‘Sunday Times’, “In what must be the most inspiring Grand National of all…”

By then an 11-year-old, Aldaniti had been placed in both the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Scottish Grand National as a nine-year-old before, not for the first time in his career, injury intervened. A fractured hock bone, sustained at Sandown in November 1979, led to him being confined to his box for six months and off the course for over a year.

Meanwhile, Champion, stable jockey to Gifford in Findon, West Sussex, had been diagnosed with testicular cancer, requiring surgery and an extensive course of chemotherapy. Against the odds and thanks, in no small part, to the loyal support of Josh Gifford, Champion recovered sufficiently to be reunited with Aldaniti in the Whitbread Trial Chase at Sandown in February 1981, which they won.

So on to Aintree on April 4, 1981, where Aldaniti was preceded in the Grand National market by 8/1 favourite Spartan Missile, famously ridden by 54-year-old John Thorne. Indeed, it was Spartan Missile who would eventually emerge as his main challenger but, having taken the lead on the first circuit, Aldaniti withheld what commentator Sir Peter O’Sullevan described as a “storming finish” by his main market rival to win by four lengths. The ‘fairytale’ ending was immortalised in the book ‘Champion’s Story’, written by Champion and Jonathan Powell, and its film adaptation ‘Champions’, which starred John Hurt as Champion, Edward Woodward as Gifford and Aldaniti as himself.

Aldaniti and Champion returned to Aintree for the 1982 Grand National, for which the 12-year-old started 12/1 joint-third favourite, behind the eventual winner, Grittar, and Royal Mail. Aldaniti fell at the very first fence and was subsequently retired, spending the rest of his life at the stud farm of his owner, Barkfold Manor in Kirdford, West Sussex, where he died of old age in March 1997.