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Red Rum
I was at Aintree when RED RUM ran in a 5 F seller there ,
may have been an evening meeting ?
he either dead heated for first or third place and best I can remember may have been ridden by Lester Piggott or Paul Cook.....
( was just thinking about the henessy sure he ran in that ?)
Was any one else at that Aintree meeting ?
Or Trump this recollection with yours
Rgds to all
Peter P
I was at Aintree when RED RUM ran in a 5 F seller there ,
may have been an evening meeting ?
he either dead heated for first or third place and best I can remember may have been ridden by Lester Piggott or Paul Cook.....
( was just thinking about the henessy sure he ran in that ?)
Was any one else at that Aintree meeting ?
Or Trump this recollection with yours
Rgds to all
Peter P
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Hello Peter Perves (any badges?)
Red Rum 2nd to Red Candle 73' |
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Nutted on de line i think
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Red Rum's racecourse debut in that 5f seller was the first race meeting I attended back in April 1967. It was school holiday time and I remember I was taken to Aintree by my grandmother who was keen on racing as a bit of a treat. It was an afternoon card on a mixed meeting at that time.
The official result was that Red Rum had dead-heated, but incredibly there was no photo finish equipment installed at Aintree at that time (not even for the National)and many people thought that Red Rum had just put his nose in front right on the line. The 5f course ran diagonally across the Mildmay course starting in the corner by the Anchor Bridge and finishing roughly where the present winning post is. There were no starting stalls used at Aintree, and the pull-up area on the 5f course was very short (and dangerous) with the runners eventually coming to a halt amongst spectators somewhere near where the new weighing room is situated today. Red Rum ran once in the Hennessy (November 1973) and was beaten a short head by Red Candle who was receiving a stone from him. The 1973/74 season was Red Rum's best because despite the narrow defeat in the Hennessy,he ran on 10 occasions, won 6, was runner up in 3, and the only blip came at Haydock when another horse crashed into the back of him at Haydock and the jockey was unseated. That season culminated in victories in both the National and Scottish Grand National just 3 weeks apart and carrying top weight on both occasions. A remarkable horse trained just down the road from where I live that I had the privilege of watching many times. |
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Hillside still a better course than Birky..
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Red Rum dead heated with Curlicue in his first race, as Guinness says was 2nd to Red Candle in 73 Hennessey, race is on YouTube as are most of the Hennesseys.
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Thnx Birkdale....
A most informative answer indeed and sad to say I was 19 then ......but I remember it quite well and although I have been to many UK race meetings since , in fact i have never been back to Aintree , how about you ? ( what a horse Red Rum must have been ! ) All the very best to you |
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Clover Bud
Aintree is my local course and I go to virtually every meeting. I've seen every Grand National since 1972. The Aintree of today is a vastly different place to the Aintree of 1967, and if you return you would hardly recognise the place. Where the old paddock used to be there is now a statue of Red Rum, and overlooking the new paddock there is a statue of Ginger McCain. Red Rum was buried beside the winning post at Aintree, and his grave is a feature that many racegoers visit. Flat racing was, of course, discontinued in the 1970's, but if you look carefully you can still make out the outline of the old 5f course across the centre of the Mildmay, but I've always doubted whether it was actually the full 5f - looks a bit short to me ! It would be well worth a return visit. The National meeting is superbly well organised with a brilliant atmosphere and excellent facilities, but leave the car at home and go by train as Aintree station is literally just across the road. |
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clover bud
as birkdale has already pointed out the national meeting and the racecourse is nothing like the way it was, all in all it is at least the equal of the cheltenham festival and is well worth a visit each of the 3 days are different but all very very good. |
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Red rum ran a dead heat as a 2 year old... sprinting.
..went on to win 3 grand nationals 4 miles plus |
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Great post birkdale.
Whilst I weLL remember the first time starting stalls were introduced it's an eye opener to be informed there wasn't a photo finish camera in 1967. I'd have thought they were everywhere by then apart perhaps Cartmel. |
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when monksfield and night nurse dead heated at liverpool was there a photo finish then anybody ?
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I'm confident there was foxy.I remember watching the race on tv and waiting for the result of the photo.
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I never saw Red Rum in the flesh but have been racing for a long time. My first visit to Cheltenham was about 60 years ago and I remember Lochroe was one of the winners. I attended my first point to point at Didmarton in 1945 aged 11 months! (and didn't miss a meeting there until 1967 when I was in USA).
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thanks posy
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I enjoyed reading this post and the replies. Great memories! I absolutely love Aintree. Without a doubt my favourite track, and meeting! Superbly organised.
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Think the last flat meeting may have been in '75 and the fields on that occasion were pretty thin. Good point re the dead heat for the Night Nurse/Monksfield race in 1977 Foxy as it is possible they didn't have photo finish at that time. The National in '72 had a dead heat called for 3rd place because there wasn't a photo and there was probably a head between the pair involved.
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I was at Aintree 02/04/77 when Rummy won his third Grand National. When he crossed that winning line, the atmosphere was electric. I have never experienced anything close so God only knows how Tommy Stack felt.
This was the same day Night Nurse gave Monksfield weight, five pounds I believe, and dead heated in the Templegate Hurdle. Skymas won the two mile chase. As regards the Hennessy, I recall one of Rummy's adversaries was called Red Candle and I do believe he won Newbury's big race one year when Rummy partook. Another contempory was Barona who won the Scottish National and then there was Scout, he went off favourite at Aintree in 1978 when Rummy was withdrawn only to fall. |
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Jamilla14, pretty sure Scout was sent off favourite in 1974 when Red Run won his 2nd race. If memory serves Scout was an Arthur Stephenson chaser who was a huge punt on the day but his stamina gave out.
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I've tried to find confirmation (without success) of there being a photo finish camera at Aintree in 1977. Was interested to read that it wasn't until 1983 that all courses had cameras.
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Clover Bud - I will take you down memory lane.
Magnet Gold Cup Day at York July 1974. Still at school, bookmaker Peter Phelps was a clerk short and I was thrown in at the deep end. On arriving, the bookmaker standing for PP was called David Robinson. He explained to me how he liked to keep a runner 'for himself' in the big race on the card, and being without any view, asked me what I fancied. 'Take A Reef' came back the reply. After a very long day, my wages were topped up with a sweetener, for picking the winner, I had never had so much money. Later that year I filled in one autumn day at Carlisle jumps. The first hurdle race of the the day was won by Lucius who as we know... |
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I see it's the monksfield hurdle today at navan
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Posy
Onlooker or g ed will know the definite answer |
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forgotmyusername - yes you are correct. Memory fades with time. Am now trying to remember what went off fav in 1978.
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Rag trade went off favourite in the 78 national
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Another contempory was Barona who won the Scottish National
Barona won the Scottish National twice in 75 and 76, in 75 in the GN at Aintree his jockey Paul Kelleway was actually pulled off his horse by a high flying Andy Turnell at Bechers as he was catapulted from his mount, Barona also came 4th in the GN before winning at Ayr in 76! Incidentally the Scottish version was run just 7 days after the GN in those days! |
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foxy - just watching the race on YouTube. Says that Rag Trade was ridden by Jonjo O'Neill, same as Alverton the following year, and both had the misfortune to be put down.
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Jonjo had some bad luck in the race. Pretty sure he never completed in the National itself. Remember Tied Cottage going from the front in '78 but Tommy Carberry tried to take Bechers at an angle and coming down. And please don't get me started on his Gold Cup ride on that horse the following year!
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stewarts rise - that is correct. A mere week between these two Nationals. The likes of Red Rum and Barona must have beenvery hardy individuals. Trainers today wouldn't even contemplate taking these two races in with such a short interval.
Do you remember the year Ruby Walsh came agonisingly close to winning all four Nationals, being denied at Ayr by a 33/1 chance I believe, in a photo. Was it ridden by Jo Colliver ? Was Hedgehunter one of the winners ? |
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May well have been Silver Birch not Hedgehunter.
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Jamilla14, think it was Run For Paddy and Carl Llewellyn who denied Ruby in 2006
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forgot - reading wiki. Seems it was 2005 and the horse was called Joe's Edge ridden by Keith Mercer. Numbersixvalverde was the Irish winner along with Silver Birch (Welsh) and Hedgehunter. Ah yes,I remember it well...
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forgor - my memory was telling me Jo Colliver not Joe's Edge. Yours was a year out with Numbersixvalverde winning two versions.
Am I right in thinking Jo Colliver won a Scottish Nationalmore recently ? Back to wiki...what would we do ? |
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I rode the 5f course on a bicycle in the 70s.It was a hot summer's day,going was firm,plenty of lush grass.The 5f course was most unusual the way it ran diagonally through the middle of the main track.
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Just watched a rerun of 73 GN and a few interesting facts popped up which time tends to have forgotten.
13 horses actually carried O/W, nearly a 1/3rd of the field. Jonjo had his 1st ride as a 20 yo on Red Rums stable companion Glenkiln also owned by Noel Le Mare. Most people believe that Crisp led all the way in that national before being collared on the line by Red Rum but he actually didn't lead until after Bechers the 6th fence where leader Grey Sombrero made a mistake, later fatally injured at the chair. Can anyone actually remember what occurred the night before the National to do with Red Rum and Ginger McCain? |
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They actually had a book about Red Rum published before he won his 3rd National. I was reading at the time and put it down to watch the race and still never even backed it that day!
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Jamilla14, you are correct it couldn't have been Run For Paddy. Joe Colliver hasn't won the race but Charlie Huxley was a lesser known jockey to have won as was the now flat jockey P J McDonald. Stewarts Rise, re your question, no idea what happened the night before but Glenkiln had won a race over the National fences the previous October when ridden by Jimmy Bourke that was something of a one off until revived many years later.
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Flat racing under rules at Aintree was discontinued after the 1976 Grand National meeting. The meeting was traditionally "mixed", but by 1976 the flat racing was restricted to just 4 races all held on the Thursday and accompanied by the Topham and the Foxhunters to make up a 6 race card. The Friday and Saturday of the meeting had been converted to exclusively NH.
The final flat race was the Knowsley Stakes over 1m5f and was won by Brian Taylor. The winning distance was a head, so photo finish equipment had possibly been installed by this time. The first race on the card was a 5f sprint across the centre of the Mildmay course, and Willie Carson and Pat Eddery amongst others rode in it. |
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13 horses actually carried O/W, nearly a 1/3rd of the field.
That's on top of the 1 1/2 stones that many would have been out of the h'cap proper! No wonder so many GNs had the same classier horses winning and placing in the race. Forgetmyusername, i'll leave the answer open for a while to give others a chance to remember. Can anyone actually remember what occurred the night before the National to do with Red Rum and Ginger McCain? |
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Can anyone actually remember what occurred the night before the National to do with Red Rum and Ginger McCain?
McCain was still training behind his used car garage at that time. Did I read somewhere that both he and the horses had been disturbed in the middle of the night by burglars ? |