Welsh Grand National

The Coral Welsh Grand National is a Grade 3 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Chepstow, Wales, over a distance of about 3 miles and 6½ furlongs (3 miles 6 furlongs and 130 yards, or 6,154 metres), and during its running there are twenty-three fences to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year on 27 December.

Coral Welsh Grand National
Grade 3 race
LocationChepstow Racecourse
Chepstow, Wales
Inaugurated1895
Race typeChase
SponsorCoral
WebsiteChepstow
Race information
Distance3m 6½f (6,154 metres)
SurfaceTurf
TrackLeft-handed
QualificationFour-years-old and up
WeightHandicap
Purse£150,000 (2019)
1st: £85,425
Coral Welsh Grand National
2021
Secret Reprieve The Two Amigos Yala Enki

The race was first run in 1895, and it originally took place at Ely Racecourse in Cardiff. It remained at this venue until the closure of the course in 1939. After World War II it was transferred to Caerleon in 1948, and it was then moved to its present venue in 1949. Dick Francis, the famous jockey turned author, rode the first Chepstow winner of the race, Fighting Line. David Nicholson, later a successful racehorse trainer, rode three successive Welsh National winners in 1959, 1960 and 1961.

Originally run on Easter Tuesday, it was moved to February in 1969 with the aim of attracting better horses, albeit with the increased risk of bad weather forcing its cancellation. It has been sponsored by bookmakers Coral from 1973 and is now the longest running sponsorship in jump racing.

It was moved to late December in 1979, after that year's original fixture was abandoned due to snow. The meeting is now held the day after Boxing Day and since then the class of runners has improved further, making it an informative guide to future races such as the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The race distance was extended from 3 miles 5 furlongs and 110 yards to its present distance in 2019, to allow a longer run to the first bend; this also meant that field now jumps 23 fences rather than the previous 22.[1]

Among the winners were Burrough Hill Lad in 1983, who went on to land the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup less than three months later. Trainer Jenny Pitman had the previous season saddled Corbière to win the Welsh and Aintree Nationals. In the late 80s and early 90s, the race was dominated by Somerset trainer Martin Pipe. Bonanza Boy achieved consecutive successes in 1988 and 1989, and in 1991 the giant Carvill's Hill became one of the easiest winners in the history of the race.[2][3]

More recent winners of both the Welsh and the Aintree Grand National are Bindaree and Silver Birch. The 2010 winner, Synchronised, went on to win the 2012 Cheltenham Gold Cup. The 2016 winner Native River, ridden by champion jockey Richard Johnson, went on to win the 2018 Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Winners since 1948
Year
 Winner
 Age
 Weight
 Jockey
 Trainer
1948Bora's Cottage1010-02Eddie ReaveyRyan Price
1949Fighting Line1010-09Dick FrancisKen Cundell
1950Gallery1210-08A MullinsW Bissill
1951Skyreholme810-13A ThompsonNeville Crump
1952Dinton Lass1010-00A MullinsJ Roberts
1953Stalbridge Rock1011-03Bob McCreeryHarry Dufosee
1954Blow Horn1010-06J HunterT Jarvis
1955Monaleen1009-07P FitzgeraldH T Smith
1956Crudwell1011-06Dick FrancisF Cundell
1957Creeola II910-05Michael ScudamoreFred Rimell
1958Oscar Wilde809-13Brian LawrenceBill Wightman
1959Limonali810-02David NicholsonE C Morel
1960Clover Bud1010-10David NicholsonG Llewellin
1961Limonali1011-12David NicholsonI Lewis
1962Forty Secrets810-11Josh GiffordE Jones
1963Motel910-06P CowleyW Lowe
1964Rainbow Battle810-00Paddy BroderickArthur Stephenson
1965Norther811-00Terry BiddlecombeD Jenkins
1966Kilburn811-02T NormanC Nesfield
1967Happy Spring1110-04Ken WhiteJ S Wright
1968Glenn710-04Eddie HartyFred Rimell
1969Abandoned because of snow
1970French Excuse810-09Terry BiddlecombeFred Rimell
1971Royal Toss910-12P CowleyH Handel
1972Charlie H1011-03Johnny HaineBob Turnell
1973Deblin's Green1009-12Nigel WakleyG Yardley
1974Pattered810-02Ken WhiteE Jones
1975Abandoned because of waterlogged state of course
1976 Rag Trade 10 11-02 John Burke Fred Rimell
1977Abandoned because of waterlogged state of course
1978Abandoned because of frost
1979 Peter Scot 8 10-02 Paul Barton David Gandolfo
1980 Narvik 7 10-11 John Francome Neville Crump
1981 Peaty Sandy 7 10-03 Geordie Dun[lower-alpha 1] Helen Hamilton
1982 Corbiere 7 10-10 Ben de Haan Jenny Pitman
1983 Burrough Hill Lad 7 10-09 John Francome Jenny Pitman
1984 Righthand Man 7 11-05 Graham Bradley Monica Dickinson
1985 Run and Skip 7 10-08 Peter Scudamore John Spearing
1986 Stearsby 7 11-05 Graham Bradley Jenny Pitman
1987 Playschool 10 10-11 Paul Nicholls David Barons
1988 Bonanza Boy 7 10-01 Peter Scudamore Martin Pipe
1989 Bonanza Boy 8 11-11 Peter Scudamore Martin Pipe
1990 Cool Ground 8 10-00 Luke Harvey Reg Akehurst
1991 Carvill's Hill 9 11-12 Peter Scudamore Martin Pipe
1992 Run for Free 8 10-09 Mark Perrett Martin Pipe
1993 Riverside Boy 10 10-00 Richard Dunwoody Martin Pipe
1994 Master Oats [lower-alpha 2] 8 11-06 Norman Williamson Kim Bailey
1995Abandoned because of frost
1996Abandoned because of frost
1997 Earth Summit 9 10-13 Tom Jenks Nigel Twiston-Davies
1998 Kendal Cavalier 8 10-00 Barry Fenton Nigel Hawke
1999 Edmond 7 10-00 Richard Johnson Henry Daly
2000 Jocks Cross 9 10-04 Brian Crowley Venetia Williams
2001 Supreme Glory 8 10-00 Leighton Aspell Pat Murphy
2002 Mini Sensation 9 10-04 Tony Dobbin Jonjo O'Neill
2003 Bindaree 9 10-09 Carl Llewellyn Nigel Twiston-Davies
2004 Silver Birch 7 10-05 Ruby Walsh Paul Nicholls
2005 L'Aventure 6 10-04 Leighton Aspell Paul Nicholls
2006 Halcon Genelardais 6 11-03 Wayne Hutchinson Alan King
2007 Miko de Beauchene 7 10-05 Andrew Thornton Robert Alner
2008 Notre Pere 7 11-00 Andrew Lynch Jim Dreaper
2009 Dream Alliance 8 10-08 Tom O'Brien Philip Hobbs
2010 Synchronised [lower-alpha 3] 8 11-06 Tony McCoy Jonjo O'Neill
2011 Le Beau Bai[4] 8 10-01 Charlie Poste Richard Lee
2012[lower-alpha 4] Monbeg Dude 8 10-01 Paul Carberry Michael Scudamore
2013 Mountainous 8 10-00 Paul Moloney Richard Lee
2014 Emperor's Choice 7 10-08 Aidan Coleman Venetia Williams
2015[lower-alpha 5] Mountainous 11 10-06 Jamie Moore Kerry Lee
2016 Native River 6 11-12 Richard Johnson Colin Tizzard
2017[lower-alpha 6] Raz De Maree 13 10-10 James Bowen Gavin Cromwell
2018 Elegant Escape 6 11-08 Tom O'Brien Colin Tizzard
2019 Potters Corner 9 10-04 Jack Tudor Christian Williams
2020 Secret Reprieve[lower-alpha 7] 7 10-01 Adam Wedge Evan Williams
  1. amateur jockey
  2. The 1994 running took place at Newbury
  3. The "2010" running took place in January 2011 after the original fixture was postponed because of snow and frost
  4. The "2012" running took place in January 2013 after the original fixture was postponed because of waterlogging
  5. The "2015" running took place in January 2016 after the original fixture was postponed because of waterlogging
  6. The "2017" running took place in January 2018 after the original fixture was postponed because of waterlogging
  7. The "2020" running took place in January 2021 after the original fixture was postponed because of waterlogging

See also

References
  1. "Amendments To Coral Welsh Grand National Distance". Arena Racing Company. 2 November 2019.
  2. Lee, Brian. 2002. The Welsh Grand National. ISBN 0-7524-2728-8
  3. Chepstow racecourse website
  4. "Le Beau Bai lands Welsh National victory at Chepstow". BBC Sport. 27 December 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  • pedigreequery.com – Welsh National – Chepstow.
  • Ladbrokes Pocket Companion 1990/91. Aesculus Press. 1990. p. 46. ISBN 1-871093-21-X.
  • Race Recordings 1980–2009
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.