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1) Jack Nicklaus at the age of 46 surges through the back nine to win an unlikely sixth masters in 1986

“Done.  Through.  Finished.  Washed up.”  Tom McCollister of the Atlanta Constitution on Jack Nicklaus, the week before the 1986 Masters

Jack Nicklaus was no ordinary golfer.  Blessed with power, skill and, perhaps most important of all, a great golfing brain, he dominated world golf for over 20 years.  From finishing second in the US Open as an amateur in 1960 up to 1985 he won 17 Majors (19 if you count the US Amateur), was runner-up 19 times and placed in the top 10 on a further 32 occasions.  He was always in contention. 

That was, until the mid-1980s.  Now into his 40s he seemed to be spending more time designing and building golf courses that actually playing them.  Coming to the 1986 Masters, he had not won a Major for six years and no tournament at all for two.  He sat an embarrassing 160^th on the US money list and, amazingly for Nicklaus, was 157^th in putting.  No-one, except perhaps Nicklaus himself, gave him a chance. 

A modest first round 74 was followed by a 71 in the second and 69 in the third.  This positive progression took him to a share of ninth place, only four shots behind the leader, Greg Norman.  But on a stacked leaderboard, few but the most sentimental were backing Nicklaus. Still, he set off on the final day with a target of 65 in mind, the score that he calculated he could win the tournament with. 

Nicklaus had not putted well all week and the pattern continued on the front nine with two missed putts from around 4 feet.  Still, he was holding his score together and after a lucky escape on 8, was level par for the round.  The fun started on the 9^th.  Facing a 10-footer for birdie, he twice stepped away from the putt, disturbed by the cheering that accompanied chip-ins by Tom Kite and Seve Ballesteros on the 8^th.  When he did get down to it, Nicklaus drained the putt to create a big cheer of his own. 

The cheering intensified on the 10^th and 11^th, both of which Jack birdied with long putts.  A bogey on the 12^th appeared to have stalled the charge, but it served only to make Jack play more aggressively.  He reached the green of the par-five 13^th in two and two-putted for birdie.  After a par on 14 he took on the par-five 15^th and again reached the green in two.  This time he sank his tricky 12-footer for eagle and closed to within two of the lead.  When he hit his five-iron tee-shot at 16 to three feet the watching crowd went wild, even more so when he tapped in the putt and moved to eight under.  His momentum now irresistible, he birdied the 17^th from 10 feet – his seventh birdie in 10 holes – and moved into the lead.  A par on the last and he had achieved his target of 65. 

While Nicklaus was burning up the course, his opponents were showing signs of cracking.  The mercurial Ballesteros came to the 15^th still in the lead but, with the pressure ratcheted up by the wall of noise accompanying Nicklaus on the course, hooked his four-iron approach to the green into the water.  He three putted 17 and his chance was gone. Tom Kite had a 12-foot putt on the last to tie with Nicklaus, but missed it.  And poor old Greg Norman needed only a par at the last to tie and force a play-off.  A poor second shot, which ended up in the crowd, did him no favours and he finished with a bogey in a tie for 2^nd with Kite. 

Implausibly, Nicklaus had won the Masters for the sixth time, at the age of 46.  With his son Jackie on his bag, he had conjured up a most incredible finish and a story that will be retold for many years to come.  

2) The coming of the messiah – 21-year old Tiger Woods claims his first Masters …by 12 shots!

“the type of player who comes around once in a millennium”  Tom Watson on Tiger Woods

His coming had been expected.  Almost since the day of his birth we had been waiting for him.  And when he did come, well, he most certainly did not disappoint. 

Tiger Woods was a prodigy.  On national TV at the age of two, shooting 48 for nine holes at age three, club champion at age eight, US junior champion at 15; the then youngest player to tee it up in a PGA tour event at 16; three consecutive US Amateur championships before the age of 21.  So, when he turned pro in ‘96 it was under the glare of huge publicity and expectation. If there had been any doubters, he silenced them firmly by making the cut in his first eight events and actually winning two of them. 

When he came to his first Masters as a pro in 1997 he was most definitely considered to be a contender.  The course suits a long hitter and a great putter and Tiger fitted the bill on both counts.   Perhaps the occasion did get to him a little (to add to the pressure of expectation he was paired with defending Masters champion, Nick Faldo) and he slumped to a four-over par 40 on the front nine.  At the turn, however, things took a marked change for the better. 

He began the back nine with a great putt on 10 for birdie.  On the definitive par-3, Golden Bell, the 12^th, he was faced with a tough chip back across the green and the smart money was on a bogey.  Instead, he chipped in for birdie.  Further birdies on 13 and 17 sandwiched an eagle on 15, meaning he had come back in 30 for a two-under par round of 70.

Thereafter, the tournament was a bit of a procession.  He recorded a 6-under 66 on day two to move into a three-shot lead.  Paired with Colin Montgomerie on day three he went one better with a 65 to take out a nine shot lead. (Poor old Monty was so shell-shocked that he shot an 81 on day four). Then, lest anyone thought he would take it easy, he finished with a 69 on the final day to bring home a massive 12-shot victory.  In the space of four eye-opening days Woods had broken numerous records, many at the expense of Jack Nicklaus, whose mantle as ‘best ever’ Woods would go on to threaten. 

• Youngest to win the Masters, aged 21 (previously Nicklaus at 22)
• Lowest score to win the Masters – 18 under par, 270 (previous best shared by Nicklaus and Ray Floyd at 271)
• Widest winning margin – 12 shots (previously Nicklaus by nine in 1965)
• First black golfer to win any Major

Woods, of course, would live up to his early promise, winning four more Masters titles and 15 Majors in all, a total surpassed only by Nicklaus. He became not only the biggest name in golf, but probably the biggest name in all of sport. This will surprise no-one who saw him decimate the field as a 21-year old in 1997.

Some interesting asides: 

• Woods finished 18 under par … over the four days he was only two-under on the front nine, but 16-under on the back nine. 
• Woods did not actually hit the most birdies in the 1997 Masters … that accolade went to veteran Tom Watson with 22.  Watson though finished only four-under par. 
• Woods did not three putt once during the tournament.
• It was as recently as 1975 that Lee Elder had become the first black player to play the Masters.  Previously, the only way a black man could step inside the ropes was to carry a white man’s bag. 

3)  Sandy gets sandy … Sandy Lyle’s bunker shot at the last 1988

“I could tell from the feel of the club it was a good shot.  I did the right thing for a change.”  Sandy Lyle on his bunker shot on the 18th

For a brief period in the mid-to-late 1980s Sandy Lyle was the best golfer from the British Isles and one of the very best in the world.  The Scotsman, a tremendously natural, strong and uncomplicated golfer had become in 1985 the first British winner of the Open Championship since Tony Jacklin in 1970.  Amidst patriotic scenes at Royal St George’s, he had shown that his game could withstand both tough conditions and intense pressure.

After his Open win, he crossed the Atlantic to test himself on the US Tour. Victories in the US by Brits were rare in this period, but Lyle showed his mettle by winning both the 1986 Greater Greensboro Open and the 1987 Players Championship. When he reclaimed the Greater Greensboro in 1988, a week before the Masters, it cemented his position as one of the pre-tournament favourites.

His odds shortened when the wind blew up at the start of the tournament.  An experienced links golfer, Lyle coped with the conditions better than everyone and recorded rounds of 71 and 67 to lead at the halfway point.  A level par 72 in round three and he entered the final day with a lead of two shots. 

Lyle held his nerve at the start of the final round and came to the turn three ahead of the field.  A bogey at the 11^th, however, followed by a disastrous tee shot into the water and double bogey at the short 12^th meant his lead had vanished.  He managed, though, to recover his composure and arrived at the 18^th tee level with American Mark Calcavecchia, already in the clubhouse on 6-under.

In recent years, improvements in club and ball technology have rendered the two fairway bunkers on 18 almost irrelevant.  But in 1988 they were very much in play.  Lyle, believing (quite rightly) that he needed a birdie to win, elected to play his trusty one-iron off the tee to give him optimum distance on his approach to the green.  The shot looked good, but agonisingly drifted left and rolled into the first of the two bunkers.  Lyle’s initial reaction was one of despair, but when he got to the ball he realised he had a decent chance to get it close.  The ball had rolled into the face of the bunker, and Lyle saw its position as a kind of launchpad.  He had 142 yards to the green and 150 to the pin.  He could make it with a full eight-iron, but felt a seven would give him more margin for error. 

So, he took a seven.  The rest is history.  He hit the ball clean as a whistle and it sailed over the flag dropping about 30 feet past. But that wasn’t that. The ball began to roll back down the sloping green, towards the pin and came to a stop about 10 feet from the hole.  Was the putt left to right or right to left?  Sandy decided to hit it straight and, to the delight of millions of watching British fans, it dropped.   Sandy Lyle had recorded a birdie on the last to win the Masters. 

Was it the greatest bunker shot ever played?  Probably not, but it was hard to beat in terms of its significance. It gave Britain its first ever winner of the Masters and gave the Masters one of its most dramatic and memorable finales ever. 

4) Tiger comes back from ‘the dead’ to record his 5^th Masters in 2019

“we’ve waited for years … many doubted we’d ever see it but here it is … the return to glory” Jim Nantz, NBC Sports, Augusta 2019

For at least a decade from the moment that Tiger Woods destroyed the field on his way to winning the 1997 Masters, the American was the dominant force in world golf. Ernie Els, David Duval and Vijay Singh may for brief periods have reached the top of the world rankings, but there was no question as to who was really number one. 14 major victories, the ‘Tiger Slam’ in 2000/1, 71 tournament victories by 2009 and vast commercial revenues all added up to an all-time phenomenon.

Things started to go a little astray towards the end of the decade. His personal life was thrown into turmoil in 2009 when he was exposed as a serial philanderer and underwent a painful – in more ways than one – separation from wife, Elin Nordegren. His public reputation as a squeaky-clean uber-professional, understandably, took a battering.  Perhaps of more concern, though, to Woods was that his body was beginning to fail him and impact on his golf.

He had always put his body through the wringer and began in the late 2000s to suffer from extreme knee and tibia pain. Somehow, he limped his way to a play-off win in the 2008 US Open, but he then had to take a 9-month break from the game following arthroscopic surgery. He recovered to have a typical Tiger season in 2009 (six victories) but then suffered from a catalogue of serious injuries – his neck, knee again, achilles and back all let him down as he went two years without a win. Once again, he bounced back, with eight victories in 2012/13, but his injury problems then worsened. Serious back issues meant he had to down tools completely in 2015, and series of back surgeries seemed to have ended his playing career for good. A drug-driving conviction in 2017 and the release of embarrassing police mugshots added to the impression that this was a man whose private and sporting lives were both imploding.

Woods, though, was not finished. After all the surgeries he got himself back into some sort of shape and entered a select number of tournaments. Even at 80/90% he was still competitive, and in September 2018 he captured one of the biggest prizes in the sport, the Tour Championship. Despite this, few gave him a chance at the 2019 Masters.

Opening rounds of 70 and 68 put him well into the mix, only one shot off the lead at the half way stage. A third round 67 kept him very much in contention, tied second behind Francesco Molinari. It was perhaps to his advantage that poor weather meant the final day groups were in threes rather than twos. It put him alongside Molinari and Tony Finau, his two closest rivals, and neither were serial closers like Tiger.  He used all his experience to plot his way round the course, and wait for the others to falter. They obliged and Tiger closed it out on the 18^th for a one-shot win. The crowd, now warmer to Woods than at any time in his career, roared him home.

The 11 years since his previous Major had included a lifetime of physical and personal pain. The greatest winner in golf, though, had come through it and found a way, once again, to win.

5) Larry Mize sinks an impossible chip to win the 1987 Masters

“how’s that look? …. Oh!” – NBC commentary, 1987

Lawrence Hogan Mize was a very decent professional golfer, turning professional in 1980 and retaining his card on the PGA Tour for 20 consecutive seasons from 1982. When the Majors came around, you might fancy him to make the cut, but he would be at best an each-way bet for the win. There was, however, one Major where he had something of a head start and that was the Masters.

Mize’s advantage was that he was born and brought up in Augusta. As a schoolboy he had regularly attended the Masters and as a teenager he had operated one of the many on-course scoreboards. Clearly something of a home boy, when the time had come for him to go to college, he had chosen Georgia Tech in nearby Atlanta. If anyone was unlikely to be intimated or shocked by Augusta National it was him.

By 1987 he had been a pro for six years and had one tournament victory to his name. He’d qualified three times for the Masters and made the cut each time so clearly knew his way around. In a year where the scoring was unspectacular, he played steady golf over the first three days to keep himself in contention. At two-under he started the Sunday only two off the lead held by Ben Crenshaw and Roger Maltbie. But in a field containing several former winners including Ballesteros, Langer, Nicklaus, Tom Watson and world number one Greg Norman, Mize was the clear outsider.

His round was a little up -and-down (six birdies and five bogies for a 71) but with none of his competitors making a substantive move he found himself in a three-way play-off for the title. He might have felt outmatched against Ballesteros and Norman but did not show it. At the first play-off hole, the 10^th, Ballesteros failed to make par so dropped out and Mize and Norman moved to the 11^th. This is a tough par-4 and Mize found himself 45m wide of the green in two with Norman safely on the fringe of the green. It would take a stunning chip for Mize to get up and down, and for all the world it looked as though Norman would lift his Majors curse (he had led all four in 1986 into the final day and failed to convert any).

Mize perhaps thought he could do it – get up and down that is – but can never have imagined  that he would hole the chip. But the ball pitched into the bank, bounced onto the green then rolled and rolled until it miraculously dropped. A shell-shocked Norman could only watch as Mize threw his wedge in the air and danced a jog of joy. Not surprisingly, Norman failed to make his birdie attempt. His bad luck story was Mize’s good luck story. The local man had done it and would dine out on it – literally at the Champions’ Dinner – for ever more.

1) AP McCoy finally wins at the 15^th time of asking – 2010

Tony (or AP) McCoy is the most successful national hunt jockey in history, and holds pretty much every important record there is – most career wins (4,358), most times Champion Jockey (20, all in consecutive seasons) and most wins in a single season (289) amongst others. By 2010 he had won 14 of his 20 titles and was already classed as an all-time great, but there was one itch that he had not scratched. In 14 rides, several on the favourite, he had failed to win the Grand National.

All this was to change in 2010 when he mounted the Jonjo O’Neill-trained Don’t Push It in the big race. He nearly didn’t take the ride. Faced with a choice of four JP McManus-owned horses, McCoy had narrowed it down to two – Don’t Push It and Can’t Buy Time – but was struggling to decide. It took a toss of coin to put him on the former.

The omens were not particularly promising. Don’t Push It had won over the fences at Aintree in the previous season, but his performances in 2009/10 had been underwhelming. He had placed in three modest races before pulling up at Cheltenham in his final race before Aintree. The pre-race betting reflected a lack of any great enthusiasm from racing aficionados, and McCoy himself seemed unexcited by his mount. As the day approached the gelding was rated a relatively lowly 22/1 shot.

On the day itself the odds came down sharply. This was often the case with McCoy’s mounts, as the once-a-year punters were enticed by his star quality. When betting closed, McCoy once again found himself on the (joint) favourite with the odds having narrowed to 10/1.

The race itself was not an epic. McCoy kept his horse near the front throughout and came to the last with only Black Appalachi alongside him. A strong finish saw Don’t Push It cross the line with a five-length advantage. The win was clearly important to an emotional McCoy who told the assembled TV cameras, “I’m being a big wuss. It means everything to me to win the Grand National. I always thought I would win as I always believe that everything will happen.”

McCoy’s win at the 15^th attempt captured the public’s attention in a way that horse racing rarely does. He went on to win that year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year, the only jockey ever, attracting more votes than any of the previous four winners. I wonder how many were from those once-a-year betters who had made a few quid on him.

https://news.williamhill.com/horse-racing/sir-ap-mccoy-coin-toss-dont-push-grand-national

https://www.888sport.com/blog/ap-mccoy-grand-national-dont-push-it

2) Red Rum wins for an unprecedented third time in 1977

There is only one horse in history that has won three Grand Nationals. That horse is, of course, the legendary Red Rum, still the best known racehorse in British history.

Red Rum’s start in life was not particularly auspicious. Bred in Ireland for shorter distances, he performed decently in low-level races, but was not seen as having the potential to get to the very top. A big reason for this was that the horse suffered from pedalosteitis, a disease of the hoof. Despite this, a small-time trainer from Southport (15 miles from Aintree), Ginger McCain, saw something in the mare and bought it for 6,000 guineas for his patron, Noel Le Mare, a local businessman whose ambition was to own a National-wining horse. The ‘marriage’ between McCain and Red Rum was to prove to be one made in heaven.

McCain trained his horses on the Southport sands, where the salt water may have helped Red Rum’s feet. Otherwise, McCain was almost entirely focused on Aintree, and he found in Red Rum a horse that loved the course almost as much as he did. A natural jumper, the horse never fell in over 100 races (although he did unseat a rider at Haydock), and was superbly suited to the fences at Aintree. His Grand National breakthrough came in the classic 1973 race where he overhauled the exhausted Crisp with only meters to go. He followed it up with a more straightforward victory in 1974, becoming the first horse for almost 40 years to win two in a row.  For good measure, he also won the Scottish Grand National that same year, the only horse ever to achieve the feat.

Red Rum continued to show his class at Aintree, finishing second in the big race in both 1975 and 1976, but when 1977 rolled around, most pundits felt he was too old at 12 years. Despite this he was still given top weight – 11 stone 8 lb – in the race and was installed amongst the favourites in the betting.

The race was not without drama. Seven horses fell at the first and a further nine had gone by fence 6, Becher’s Brook. Rank outsider, Boom Docker opened up a massive gap before refusing at the 17^th, then favourite Andy Pandy went into another huge lead before falling at Becher’s second time around. Red Rum, unbothered by fallers and running his own race, seemed to see his chance then, and jumped into the lead. Plotting his way, yet again, over the Aintree fences, he never looked like losing and hit the finishing straight with a commanding lead. Under Tommy Stack in the familiar jersey with the yellow diamond on burgundy background, the legendary horse was cheered to the rafters. There has never been a more popular winner.

After retiring, Red Rum lived to a ripe old age of 30 and was buried at the winning post of the racecourse. He remains the best known racehorse in the UK and the undoubted GOAT of the Grand National.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2020/apr/04/grand-national-1977-red-rum-goes-for-historic-treble-live

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/low/dates/stories/april/2/newsid_2466000/2466403.stm

3) Bob Champion recovers from cancer to win on Aldaniti – 1981

It’s not often that horse racing, even the Grand National, emerges from the sports pages to make front page headlines and dominate the Six O’Clock News. It’s even rarer that it becomes the subject of a best-selling book and a big budget movie. One such occasion was the fairy-tale victory of Bob Champion on Aldaniti in 1981.

It was an authentic story of triumph over adversity, in this case for both horse and jockey. Aldaniti had emerged as a top class steeplechaser a couple of seasons earlier, finishing third in the 1979 Cheltenham Gold Cup and second in the Scottish Grand National. His career, though, looked to be over almost as soon as it had started after a serious fall at Sandown in late 1979. Other horses might not have lived through such an injury, let alone recovered well enough to start racing again, but remarkably, after over a year off the track, Aldaniti made it back into training.

Champion’s story was equally unlikely. A good enough rider to finish third the 78/9 jockey’s championship, his career, indeed his life, looked to be over when at the age of 31 he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He underwent surgery, lengthy hospitalization and chemotherapy before being given the all-clear some 191 days after his initial diagnosis.

Horse and jockey had been paired together in 1979 before both had had to undergo their respective battles for survival. Having recovered, they were reunited and entered for the 1981 Grand National. They were not outsiders, coming to the race as 10/1 second favourites, but completing the race and finishing in front would still be a mighty challenge for them.

Their race nearly came to an end at the first with a mistimed jump, but Champion clung on and they settled into midfield. They came to the front of the field around the 10^th fence and managed to stay out of trouble all the way to the elbow into the finishing straight. Here, for the first time, they looked threatened as pre-race favourite Spartan Missile, ridden by 54-year-old amateur John Thorne (who was tragically to die within a year after a fall), mounted a charge. Aldaniti, though, had kept enough in his legs to maintain his lead and pass the winning post in first. Rarely if ever has there been such an emotional response to a horse race … people across the country, many with no great knowledge of the sport, were in tears.

Within no time at all the story had been turned into a best-selling book and a film, Champions, starring top British actor John Hurt as Champion. And who played the role of Aldaniti? None other than Aldaniti himself, now retired from racing and living it up as an equine celebrity.

40 years on: The Aldaniti Grand National story

Legends of the sport: The remarkable racing comeback of Bob Champion and Aldaniti *H&H Plus*

4) Foinavon is last man standing and wins at 100-1 – 1967

Only two of the 16 fences at Aintree are named after racehorses. One, Valentine’s Brook, recalls a horse from the mid-19^th century who appeared to jump the fence hind-legs first. The other is named after the most unlikely winner of the 20^th century, the 100/1 outsider who won in 1967, Foinavon.

Bred in Ireland, Foinavon was given his name by one of his first owners, Anne, Duchess of Westminster. Named after a mountain on her Sutherland estate, he turned out to be considerably less illustrious than his similarly-named fellow stablemates, Arkle and Ben Stack. Ironically, though, he probably became more famous than either.  

He was entered for the 1967 National without any great expectation. Trainer John Kempton fancied the ride, but could not make the weight. With owner Cyril Watkins unwilling to pay the bonus rate for the big race, the ride was turned down by three jockeys before being accepted by John Buckingham, a man who had never previously ridden in the National. Come race day, Foinavon was priced as a rank outsider at 100/1. The SP on the Tote was even higher, effectively giving the horse no chance. Owner Watkins clearly agreed with this judgement and did not even bother to attend the race.

The horse was considerably assisted in the race by his own mediocrity. Well behind the pace, he was able to side-step the most calamitous melee in the history of the race. It happened at Becher’s Brook on the second circuit, the 23^rd fence of 30. There were still 28 of the 44 starters in the running and most of the field were in close proximity to each other. As they approached the fence, a riderless horse, Popham Down, suddenly veered right straight in front of the leading horses. Only one, Rondetto, managed to jump it, but he unseated his rider. All the other horses in the leading group either refused or ran into each other before the fence. Buckingham and Foinavon, some distance behind, were able to avoid the chaos and jump the fence while all others were stymied.

By the time the other riders were able to regroup and finally jump the fence, Buckingham and Foinavon were on their own and had opened up a 200m gap. They still had work to do, not least in negotiating the final seven fences, but they managed and passed the finish line with a 20 length advantage.

In Foinavon’s defence, his winning time was actually marginally faster than the winner from the previous year and would have beaten three other recent winners, so he was not a complete no-hoper. His victory did not lead to much more success, but he did win another race, at Uttoxeter. This was, strangely enough, another one in which he ‘did a Foinavon’. In a field of six starters, all the other five failed to finish.

https://www.grand-national-guide.co.uk/articles/foinavon

https://grandnational.horseracing.guide/1852/foinavon

5) Rachael Blackmore becomes the first woman to ride to victory – 2021

The Sex Discrimination Act was enacted in 1975 with the aim of protecting men and women from discrimination across a wide range of activities on the grounds of gender. One result of the new law was that it enabled female jockeys to compete in horseracing on an equal footing against men. Although women had competed against men for some years in other equine sports such as showjumping and three-day eventing, they had not been allowed to do so in what was seen as the more physically demanding sport of steeplechasing.

The pioneer was Charlotte Brew, who mounted Barony Fort in the 1977 Grand National. She managed to make it as far as the 27^th fence before her horse refused. It took a further five years before a female jockey completed the course, Geraldine Rees finishing eighth and last on Cheers in 1982, then another 12 before Rosemary Henderson finished in the places, fifth on Fiddlers Pike in 1994.

Strangely there was then a 11-year gap before another woman rode in the race, but by the mid-2000’s there was a string of high-quality women jockeys, all more than capable of competing and winning against men. Nina Carberry, Katie Walsh and Bryony Frost all won Grade 1 races and rode 100s of winners. But, as Peter Scudamore and John Francome will testify, being a good jockey is no guarantee that you will ever win a Grand National.

It took until 2021 for Rachel Blackmore to finally put the unwanted record to rest. The Irish jockey had come off a spectacular Cheltenham Festival, with her six victories including the Champion Hurdle making her the leading jockey. Three weeks later at Aintree she saddled Minella Times, trained by Henry de Bromhead in Ireland, in the National. Her horse was well fancied, carrying a relatively light weight of 10 stone 3lb and fourth in the betting at 11/1.

Her race was a masterpiece in pacing. The 80/1 outsider Jett, under Sam Waley-Cohen, had gone out into a clear lead but Blackmore waited for him to come back to the field. Then with two fences to go she saw her moment, moving to the front of the field. Safely over the last, she was able to extend her lead in the final straight for a 6 1/2 length win. It was a first win as well for trainer Henry de Bromhead, who also saddled the runner-up, 100-1 outsider Balko Des Flos. But all the headlines were for Blackmore. With her talent it was probably only a matter of time before she won, but it was nonetheless a historic victory.

The only real disappointment for Blackmore was that the race was run, as the Cheltenham Festival had been earlier that year, in front of empty stands due to covid restrictions. It would doubtless have been more satisfying to have done it in front of a crowd, but surely that time will come before long.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/horse-racing/56701659

https://grandnational.horseracing.guide/21691/rachael-blackmore-first-female-jockey-win-national

1. Ireland 6 England 42 – Dublin, March 2003

When Clive Woodward became head coach of England in 1997, he took over a team that was performing well in the Five Nations, but struggling to make the step up to the level needed to win the Rugby World Cup. The team made great progress under his leadership, strengthening in all departments, and began to establish themselves as the team to beat in the Five then Six Nations. They finished second in 1997, 1998 and 1999 then won the tournament in each of the following two years. Despite their dominance, they somehow failed to win a Grand Slam. In three successive years, between 1999 and 2001, they came to the final round of games unbeaten and seemingly unbeatable, only to lose narrowly each time.

In 2003, once again, they arrived at the final game with a Grand Slam within reach. Comfortable wins had been achieved against France, Wales, Scotland and Italy but lying in wait was the only other unbeaten side in the tournament, Ireland. The game was to be played in front of a passionate Irish crowd at Lansdowne Road.

The England line-up can reasonably be considered their best ever. In the starting 15 against Ireland were 13 of the players, led by the indefatigable Martin Johnson, who would later that year line up in the victorious World Cup final. The team laid down a marker from the start by walking out on the side of the pitch that had been designated for Ireland, then refusing to move for the anthems and meet-and-greet with Irish President Mary McAleese.

Despite heavy home support, the game itself was not much of a contest. After Ireland took an early lead with a penalty, the England team moved through the gears and never looked in any sort of trouble. The pack dominated and the backs were lethal when presented with their chances. They led by only 13-6 at half time, but ran riot in the second half. Four unanswered tries saw them to a massive victory.

It was just the fillip that the team needed in World Cup year.  They built on it with a stunning summer tour beating both New Zealand and Australia on home soil. Then we all know what happened in Sydney in November 2003. 

https://www.sixnationsrugby.com/en/m6n/news/classic-guinness-six-nations-moment-ireland-6-42-england

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/international/2892271.stm

2. France 13 England 31 – Paris, February 1992

It can reasonably be argued that the run to England’s World Cup win in 2003 started a decade or so previously under the captaincy of Will Carling. After decades of underachievement, England finally began to look like they had a decent team.  The back line featured four all-time greats in Rory Underwood, Rob Andrew, Jeremy Guscott and Carling himself, and the forwards featured gnarly, aggressive warriors such as Peter Winterbottom, Micky Skinner, Dean Richards and Jeff Probyn. They were unexpectedly and painfully denied a Grand Slam in 1990 by David Sole’s Scotland, but then embarked on a phenomenal run of success. An unbeaten run in 1991 saw them to a rare Grand Slam, and they were strongly favoured again the following year, 1992.

They started well with a comfortable win in Scotland, followed by a rout of Ireland at Twickenham. The big test, though, was in Paris against a French side with a world-class back line featuring Phillipe Sella, Franck Mesnel, Philippe Saint-Andre and Fabien Galthie.

The game was seen by the French as an opportunity for revenge, as they had gone out to England in a testy World Cup quarter final on home soil, the Parc des Princes, the previous October. The French, perhaps justifiably, felt that England’s aggression in that game had been over the top, and they were determined not to be outfought this time.

The game was tight in the early stages but England went to the interval leading 15-4, mainly on the back of two penalties and a converted try. England’s forwards were just too aggressive and too strong, and were putting the French under continuous pressure. As they failed to make headway the French became desperate and as the game wore on, their despair transformed into anger and a collective loss of discipline. First, an Olivier Roumat punch briefly knocked giant second-rower Wade Dooley unconscious. There was no video referee (or indeed concussion protocols) in those days, and when Dooley came round he reportedly did not seek punishment but retribution “Ref … do not send that fucker off”. Roumat stayed on.

The referee, Ireland’s Stephen Hilditch, had no choice, though, when France prop, Gregoire Lascube, then clearly stamped on Martin Bayfield’s head as the Englishman lay on the ground following a ruck. Lascube was given a red card. Then Begles front-rower and part-time boxer, Vincent Moscato nutted Jeff Probyn before a scrum. Moscato was only given a warning, but Probyn goaded him into another assault and the second Frenchman had to leave the field. More could have followed but Hilditch kept 13 Frenchman on the field, perhaps fearing for his own safety. As it was, he had to leave the ground with a police escort.

England ran out comfortable winners against the 13 men of France and went on to a second consecutive Grand Slam.  The fortunes of the French were somewhat different. None of their front row played for Scotland again. Moscato returned to his boxing and then moved on to a successful acting career. But, in a sense, he was always resentful of the English. “They broke my career,” he said. “I will never forgive them.”

The final words perhaps go to England’s tough-nut of a prop, Jeff Probyn “If you can keep your cool when others are losing theirs, you will win internationals.”

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2014/jan/29/forgotten-story-england-france-five-nations-1992

3. France 13 England 17 – Paris, February 1980

In 1963 England won the Five Nations for the sixth time in 11 years. Few at the time would have imagined that it would take another 17 years for them to win it outright again but the late 60s and 1970s were a barren period for England. The 1970s in particular were a wasteland – bottom from 1974-76 and only one glimpse of silverware, the five-way shared trophy in 1973.

There was no great reason to think that 1980 would be much better, but England did have a new captain in 27-yr-old Bill Beaumont from Fylde, and the chemistry of the team seemed stronger with a core of mature, hard-nosed veterans alongside a handful of promising younger players.

England began the campaign with a convincing win at home to Ireland, but their second match was to be away in Paris, against a French side whom they had not beaten in Paris for 16 years. The French had come into the tournament with high hopes having drawn an away series in New Zealand in 1979, but suffered a big loss to Wales in their opener. The defeat had led to a major overhaul of their pack, and this presented England with an opportunity. If they could exploit the relative inexperience of the newly put-together French forward pack, they could perhaps neutralise the world-class French back line.

The French, belying their chaotic build-up, came out blazing. Captain and star player, flanker Jean-Pierre Rives touched down after just three minutes. An exchange of penalties and France were ahead by 7-3. That, though, was a good as it got for them. England’s forwards gained the ascendancy that they had targeted and laid a platform for two tries, both initiated by Bath fly-half, John Horton. Horton, relatively unheralded before the game, also landed a drop goal to put England 14-7 ahead at the break. A second drop goal by Horton after half time saw England move 10 points ahead.

The French were not yet beaten and came roaring back to score a second try, but England’s defence stood firm under intense pressure. The final whistle came with England four points ahead. “England’s doughty forwards ruled the cockerel’s roost” wrote Peter West of the Times.

England, now brim full of confidence, went on to deny Wales in a very close encounter, before sealing the deal with a solid win in Edinburgh. After 16 years without an outright win in the tournament, they had conquered all for the Grand Slam. Sadly, for England, this was not to be the dawn of a new era – in fact, it was to be another 11 years before they would next win the Five Nations. But for England players and fan alike, it was a season to be celebrated.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/that-1980s-sports-blog/2014/jan/27/england-france-grand-slam-1980-five-nations-paris

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-8106545/SIR-CLIVE-WOODWARD-pays-tribute-1980-Grand-Slam-winning-wonders.html

4. England 23 Ireland 22 – Twickenham, March 2024

The success of England in the 2023 Rugby World Cup was one of the big surprises of the tournament. Without ever playing particularly well, they made it to the semi-finals where only a last minute penalty from South Africa stopped them from reaching the final. The surprise at England’s progress was perhaps matched only by the shock at the failure of the world’s top-ranked side, Ireland, to get past the quarter finals. It did, in fairness, take an epic performance from the All Blacks to thwart them.

England, however, seemed to leave all of that positivity behind them when they kicked off in the 2024 Six Nations. Narrow wins were earned against the two weakest teams – Italy and Wales – before their visit to Edinburgh saw them steamrollered by Scottish winger, Duhan van der Merwe. Ireland, by contrast, seemed to shrug off any RWC disappointment, and cantered to three comfortable victories.  Round 4 saw Ireland arrive at Twickenham as red hot favourites to win and set themselves up for an inevitable Grand Slam.

The outcome was what very few expected. England came out strongly, with an aggressive blitz defence aimed at neutralising the free-scoring Irish backs. They succeeded in preventing the Irish from scoring any tries, but did give away penalties, so despite a try from Ollie Lawrence, England went into the interval 8-12 down. When Irish wing, James Lowe, touched down at the start of the second half, England players and fans could have been forgiven for thinking that the game was up. England were becoming infamous for tailing off after good starts, and most commentators saw no way back into this one.

England, though, came out fighting and roared back into contention with two well-crafted and deserved tries from George Furbank and Ben Earl. With 10 minutes to go they held a surprise narrow lead. Then, in what seemed like a final twist – Ireland’s Lowe broke through on the left wing to score his second try and Ireland were two points back in front. A conversion may well have settled it, but Jack Crowley was unable to land his kick from the sideline meaning England were still in with a chance, slim as it was.

That chance appeared to have come and gone when with less than five minutes on the clock, Elliot Daly pulled a long range penalty just wide. But England refused to say die and launched a series of attacks in the Ireland half. Phase after phase was gone through until they won a penalty near to the Irish line. Victory would certainly have been clinched with a penalty, but someone had a sense that a more dramatic finish was required for the game. From yet another ruck on the line, the ball was skimmed to replacement fly-half, Marcus Smith, who popped over a drop goal to seal the win. England fans had to slap themselves, but it was true, they had beaten the Irish.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/68525487

https://www.tntsports.co.uk/rugby/six-nations/2024/england-v-ireland-six-nations-live_sto10053283/story.shtml

5. Ireland 18 England 9 – Dublin, Feb 1973

If it seems strange to include an England defeat in the list of their best matches, it ignores the febrile context in which this match was played. 1972 had been a very difficult year on the island of Ireland. In Northern Ireland, tension and violence between loyalists and republicans was pretty much at a historic high, in response to which the British government had sent in more troops and introduced the very controversial policy of internment – the power to imprison people without trial. On 30 January 1972, members of the Army’s Parachute Regiment had opened fire on a civil rights demonstration, killing 13 and injuring 15 others, in what became known as ‘Bloody Sunday’. In Dublin, the British embassy was burned to the ground by an angry crowd.

Against this backdrop, both Scotland and Wales had refused to travel to Dublin to play Ireland so the 1972 Five Nations had to be abandoned. When the 1973 tournament came around, most expected England to follow suit and stay at home. To most people’s surprise, however, they decided to travel. They were influenced by the Irish captain, the great Willie John McBride, who called England’s David Duckham and said “you must come. Don’t let the terrorists win.”

There was plenty of security for the England team in Dublin, but perhaps they did not really need it. When they ran out first onto the pitch at Lansdowne Road they were met with a standing ovation from pretty well everyone in the 50,000-strong Irish crowd. The dressing room attendant, Frank Whisker, cleverly held back the Irish team from entering the pitch to allow the applause to last.

The generosity of the Irish did not, though, extend to those on the pitch and Ireland ran out comfortable winners. These were not golden days for England, who went through a barren decade during the 1970s. By a fluke of arithmetic, though, they were rewarded for their bravery in 1973 by earning a share of the championship … for the only time in the tournament’s history, all five teams finished on two wins apiece so all five shared the trophy.

The last word on this belongs to England captain, John Pullin, who endeared himself even more to the Irish at the post-match dinner with his modest words … “We might not be any good but at least we turn up.”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-64950657

1. Wales 32 England 31 – Wembley, April 1999

From 1997 to 1999, while the Millennium Stadium was being constructed in Cardiff, Wales had to play their home rugby internationals at Wembley Stadium. It was not a particularly happy hunting ground for them. In their first five matches, they won only one and lost four, including a crushing defeat (0-51) to France. Their sixth and final game before returning to Wales, was to be against England in front of a crowd of 76,000.

Although Wales were already out of contention for the Five Nations, England were gunning for the championship. They had won their first three matches and were strong favourites to complete the Grand Slam. They were beginning to form into the side that would go on to win the World Cup, and had just introduced into their mix a particularly promising 19-year-old, a certain Jonny Wilkinson.

The match turned out to be an epic. England went into an early lead, but there was never much in it. Every time England looked like getting away, up stepped the unflappable Neil Jenkins to land another penalty and keep Wales in the game. Still, as the clock ticked towards the 78^th minute England held a six-point advantage. They spurned an opportunity to kick a long penalty to clinch it, but still looked odds-on to complete the victory.

It was not to be. They gave up possession by kicking the ball to Wales, then conceded a penalty that enabled Wales to advance up the field. From the ensuing line-out, the ball made its way to No.8 Scott Quinnell who found Scott Gibbs running a superb line. One, two, three, four England players missed their tackles before Gibbs sidestepped 19-year old debutant Steve Hanley to apply the coup de grace. Gibbs, renowned as a bullocking centre had temporarily turned himself into a ballet dancer, or as Bill McLaren memorably put it, “He’s like the leader in a buffalo stampede”. It was only his sixth try in his 39^th international but what a try.

Neil Jenkins still had to land his conversion to put Wales into the lead, but was never going to miss, landing his eighth successful kick out of eight. England had been denied the Grand Slam and, to add insult to injury, they didn’t even win the tournament, finishing second to Scotland on points difference.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/47297172

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/intimate-memories-wales-stars-who-28931170

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/apr/03/my-favourite-game-wales-v-england-five-nations-1999

2. Scotland 13 England 7 – Murrayfield, March 1990

In 1990 Scotland met England at Murrayfield with a rare Grand Slam the potential prize for both. Scotland had started the tournament with narrow wins away to Ireland and Wales before benefiting from a sending off and a freak change of wind to convincingly beat France at home. England had brushed aside Ireland, France in Paris and Wales and were red-hot favourites (1-4 on) despite not having won the tournament since 1980.

Both teams desperately wanted the win but perhaps the Scots wanted it more. Not only were they up against the auld enemy and in their status of perennial underdog, but their desire had been sharpened by a backdrop of deep political hostility.  Margaret Thatcher’s Tory government were in the process of imposing the hugely unpopular poll tax, and had decided to launch it in Scotland. The Scottish people, including a number of die-hard socialists within the rugby set-up, were not best pleased.

They still, though, needed to get past a very strong and hard England team. They had a clear plan. This was to start the game as aggressively as possible in the forwards, particularly targeting the England line-out, and to tackle like demons in the backs. They also wanted the crowd to act as 16^th man and stage-managed a glacially slow walk onto the pitch, behind captain David Sole, as well as a rendition of Flower of Scotland (actually a relatively new tune, that was only sung for the second time in 1990) to get their supporters well and truly fired up.

The Scots gained momentum from the off, winning a scrum penalty that was converted by Craig Chalmers. England worked their way back but were undermined by the failure of New Zealand referee, David Bishop, to punish Scotland for repeatedly dropping the scrum on their own line. The Scotland try, by Tony Stanger, was also helped by an unusually friendly bounce. Sour grapes from an England fan? You bet!

So, Scotland famously won the Grand Slam and England did not. England didn’t have to wait long, winning the Grand Slam in both of the next two years, 1991 and 1992. Scotland are still waiting to win it again.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/51394762

https://www.raeburnplacefoundation.org/rugby-beginnings/interactive-timeline/scotland-s-third-grand-slam-win

3. England 10 France 53 – Twickenham, March 2023

Steve Borthwick was not a universally popular choice when he was appointed England head coach in December 2022. Despite being forwards coach during a period of considerable success for the national team between 2015 and 2020, then leading Leicester to the Premiership title, he was seen by some as a little too establishment and a little too boring. Also, perhaps a little too close to the departing Eddie Jones.

His start was not auspicious. In the first Six Nations match, at home to Scotland, his England side managed to turn a winning position into defeat with sloppy play in the final 10 minutes. Things did perk up a little with wins at home to Italy and away to Wales, so when France arrived in West London for round four of the competition there was a degree of optimism from fans and followers.

France looked strong on paper, especially with Antoine Dupont at scrum-half, but had had a patchy campaign to date. An extremely close shave in Italy had been followed by defeat in Ireland then another squeaky win at home to Scotland. Their game, though, was to come together in the most magnificent fashion at Twickenham while England’s was to fall apart humiliatingly.

The tone was set with less than two minutes on the clock. A superb length of the field move through six pairs of hands ended in a try for Thomas Ramos. Two more first half tries came without reply including one on the stroke of half time. A try for England at the start of the second half proved to be a very false dawn, as France just ran away with it. England’s players were chasing shadows as the French ran in four more tries to inflict England’s biggest ever home defeat.

Such is the way of rugby union that just one year later England almost succeeded in gaining revenge on the French in Paris. Trailing by a point into the last minute of the game, it took a disputed penalty kick from the half-way line to bring France to victory on home soil. It would have been a consolation, but nothing can erase the terrible memory of defeat in 2023.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2023/mar/11/england-v-france-six-nations-2023-live-score-updates

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/64928055

4. England 38 Scotland 38 – Twickenham, March 2019

By 2019 the English rugby public had not yet fallen out of love with coach Eddie Jones. The Australian had got off to a fantastic start with his adopted country, leading England to a record 18 consecutive victories between 2015-17. The gloss came off a little in 2018, when England finished a lowest-ever fifth in the Six Nations, but some solid performances in the Autumn Internationals meant his standing was still high come 2019.

In Rugby World Cup year there’s a risk that the Six Nations can be looked upon as a dress rehearsal, but there was no hint of that from England’s first two games – a convincing away win at the Aviva Stadium and a demolition of France at Twickenham. They looked good for a Grand Slam, but their hopes were dashed by a strong Welsh side, themselves on a long unbeaten run, at the Millennium Stadium. In fact, after Wales beat England in round three, they went on to complete two further victories to clinch the title and their own Grand Slam.

England actually remained in contention going into the final round of fixtures, but because Wales kicked off first on the final day, and won, the English knew they could only finish second when they kicked off against Scotland at Twickenham. They nevertheless set off in the mood of a team that wer determined to win. They set off like an express train and simply demolished Scotland in the first half. Tries for Nowell, Curry, Launchbury and May helped England into a 31-0 lead and only a consolation try by hooker McInally after a charge down, put Scotland on the board at the interval. It was inconceivable that the Scots could recover … or was it?

The second half represented one of the most extraordinary turn-arounds in any rugby match ever. England seemed to completely lose concentration and defensive discipline, and the Scots started just running through them. One Scottish try followed another without reply until the visitors had drawn level with a quarter of the game still remaining. With five minutes to go, Scottish centre Sam Johnson found more holes in the defence, and barrelled over to give his team a previously unimaginable lead. With the momentum of the game going one way only, it now seemed inevitable that the Scots would win.  

From somewhere, though, England summoned up a last vestige of pride and determination, to which they added a seemingly-forgotten dose of competence. In the third minute of extra time, George Ford crossed for a try that he converted, and a draw had been rescued. It staved off what would have been one of the biggest humiliations in England rugby history, but it still left plenty of red faces.

https://www.six-nations-guide.co.uk/2019/england-v-scotland.html

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/mar/16/england-scotland-six-nations-match-report

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/47598676

5. England vs Wales 1964 to 1979

Over the history of England vs Wales rugby internationals, it is England who hold the ascendancy with 69 wins to 61 (12 games having been drawn). This will come as a surprise to anyone who started watching rugby in the 1960s and ‘70s a period in which Wales were virtually unassailable.

In fact, over a 16 year period from 1964 to 1979, Wales defeated England 13 times, with only two draws and a single, solitary victory for England to grab hold of. The Welsh side of this era included a roll-call of all-time greats – Gareth Edwards, JPR Williams, John Dawes, Phil Bennett, Mervyn Davies and the much vaunted Pontypool front row – and were perennial winners of the Five Nations tournament. But they were beatable, it’s just that England almost never managed it. It actually took a remarkable 28 years (from 1963 to 1991) for England to beat Wales in Cardiff.

The one win in the 1970s came surprisingly in 1974 at Twickenham, when England were headed for the Wooden Spoon after defeats to Scotland and Ireland and a draw against France. Wales, meanwhile, needed a win for yet another championship. It was a scrappy and close affair that seemed to have gone Wales’ way, once again, when in the final minutes Welsh wing, JJ Williams chased a ball and fell onto it over the England line. Controversially, the referee did not believe that the ball had been grounded (the video referee was still many decades away) and England held on for a very rare and slightly lucky win.

For the rest of that period, it was unending misery and disappointment for the English. In recent years, England have more than made up for it, with a strong winning record against Wales, but for those who grew up in this period, there remains an ever-lasting inferiority complex and fear of the red jersey.

1- Devon Loch falls within sight of the finishing line – 1956

Throughout the long history of British horse racing, many members of the royal family have been enthusiastic and active patrons of the industry. Perhaps none more so than Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, owner of hundreds of horses and with 457 race victories to her name. One that remained elusive, despite many attempts, was the Grand National.

This looked set to change in 1956 when her horse Devon Loch lined up for the race. At odds of 100/7, the 10-year-old was ranked amongst the top five or six contenders, and his odds improved when the favourite, Must, fell at the first.

There were still, of course, over four miles and another 29 fences to negotiate, but the horse, ridden by Dick Francis, seemed to manage both the jumps and the trip with ease. With all fences cleared, he rounded the final bend to enter the final straight with a massive lead. Only Irish gelding ESB was in view but well back and going backwards. A victory for the Queen Mother’s horse seemed utterly inevitable.  

But, with less than fifty yards to the line, calamity struck. From nowhere the horse appeared to slip, his front legs extending out in front of him while his back legs collapsed to the knees. The horse came to a dead stop. The other horses, much to their jockeys’ and perhaps their own surprise, galloped past the stricken pair. A distraught Francis tried to get his horse moving, but to no avail. They could not even complete the final few metres having watched ESB and others cross the line in front of them.

Many theories were put forward as to why the horse had so suddenly and unexpectedly capitulated. Was it the noise of the crowd, had there been a high pitched sound or laser directed at the horse or, even, had the horse imagined a ghost fence. In the event, it was probably just fatigue at the end of what is always a long and gruelling challenge.

The Queen Mother never had a winner in the National and neither did Dick Francis. Francis never got over it, describing it in later years as “a disaster of massive proportions” and retired from racing a year or so later. He did, though, go on to become a hugely successful novelist, writing more than 40 international best-sellers, all set in the world of horse racing. As for the horse, he continued to live for another six years, and became more famous in defeat than he would ever have been in victory. To this day, to ‘do a Devon loch’ remains a metaphor for turning a certain victory into an unlikely loss.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/1956/mar/26/horseracing

https://www.sportinglife.com/racing/news/grand-national-unlucky-losers-devon-loch/199753

2. Esha Ness wins 1993 Grand National but result is declared null and void

In the most northerly part of the British Isles, the Shetlands, lies a remote and windswept peninsula by the name of Esha Ness. Frequently battered by the high winds and rough seas of the North Atlantic, it features some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in Scotland. Despite that, the name ‘Esha Ness’ is little known except as a quiz curiosity – which horse won the Grand National but didn’t actually win it?

The year was 1993. A strong field had gathered at Aintree including 1992 winner Party Politics, future winner Royal Athlete and 1991 Cheltenham Gold Cup champion, Garrison Savannah. The race got off to an inauspicious start when animal rights protestors held up the start with a protest at the first fence. Once they had been cleared from the course, and the start called, a number of horses set off before the elastic tape holding back the riders had lifted out of the way. A false start was declared and all horses were pulled up.

The jockeys trotted back with their mounts and reassembled at the start. Understandably, some of the horses were a little jumpy and it took some minutes to get them properly lined up. Unbelievably, at the restart there was another problem with the starting mechanism, and a number of riders were caught up in the same elastic tape. Another false start was declared, but most of the riders failed to notice, not least because in this catalogue of errors, the starter’s red flag did not properly unfurl. Around 30 of them headed for the first fence, jumped it and began to contest the race.

As they completed the first ‘lap’ there was a second chance to stop the race. Officials were positioned on the course, waving their red flags, trying to catch the riders’ attention and make it clear that the race was void. Many of the jockeys responded but a handful either missed the signal or misinterpreted it (perhaps they thought that the officials were simply warning of more animal rights intruders on the course). This handful continued to race on.

Had the race been valid, it would have had a pretty gripping finish, but many in the crowd, aware of the ongoing fiasco, booed as the remaining horses galloped down the straight. The ‘winner’ was 50-1 shot Esha Ness, ridden by John White in his eighth national. It’s clear from footage that White knew before he had dismounted that the race would be declared null and void. His face is a picture of dejection. He claims never to have watched the race back on video and who can blame him. I dare say that bookmakers have never re-watched it either as they had to hand back £75m in bets to punters.

An official enquiry, chaired by a High Court judge, was commissioned. It was critical of starter Keith Brown, officiating at his final race before retirement, and Ken Evans, a flag official down the course who failed to notice the second false start. But what the enquiry really shone a light on was the amateurish set up for such an important national event. Suffice to say that many changes were made and to date there has never been a recurrence of the debacle of 1993.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/racing/2023/04/13/grand-national-2023-void-race-chaos-inside-story-30-years

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/apr/04/grand-national-1993-farce-race-void

3. Only four horses finish the 2001 Grand National

You could say that running a horse race in the North West of England in the month of April is asking for trouble. The prevailing warm moist westerly winds mean that this part of the country is often prone to heavy spring rainfall, and this obviously affects the condition of the racecourse. Despite this, the ground for recent runnings of the Grand National has rarely been classed as ‘heavy’. It’s often ‘soft’ or ‘soft, heavy in places’, but only four races in the past 25 years have been in the toughest conditions.

One such race was the 2001 Grand National. The spring had not been a good one for horse racing. An outbreak of foot and mouth disease had resulted in a number of meeting cancellations, with the Cheltenham Festival the biggest casualty. The racing industry and spectating public, not to mention the bookmakers, were desperate for top class racing to resume. Had there not been this run-up to Aintree, it’s possible that the meeting would have been postponed but, ultimately, the desire to get horses racing again overcame all of the practical objections to racing in such difficult conditions.

The day of the race arrived with strong winds, heavy rain and extremely heavy going. Bookmakers had offered odds on whether the race would be postponed and, more morbidly, on how few horses would complete the race.

40 horses started. Two fell at the first fence, three at the second, another three at the third. By the time the field approached the eighth, the Canal Turn, 15 horses or riders had fallen. The Canal Turn saw havoc ensue, with another 10 horses either falling or refusing to jump. It took until the 10^th – and this with a full 20 fences to be jumped – for a fence to be cleared cleanly, albeit there were only 14 horses still in it at this point.

When one of the pre-race favourites, Beau under Carl Llewellyn fell at the 20^th, there were only four horses still standing and two of these – Blowing Wind and Papillon – were completely out of contention with their jockeys having remounted earlier in the race. Some distance ahead of them sat the only two horses to have jumped clear to this point – Red Marauder, a 33/1 outsider and Smarty at 16/1. Both were clearly made of stern stuff, and they provided something resembling of a race over the final third of the course. It was Red Marauder, under Richard Guest, though, that had the legs and pulled clear before the penultimate fence. Smarty, clearly spent, trotted over the finish line a distant second.

Incredibly there were no injuries to horse or jockey despite the carnage. There was, nevertheless, much criticism in the aftermath of the race. Esteemed racing journalist, Alastair Down of the Racing Post, wrote that the decision of the Aintree executive to go ahead with the race was “gutless, witless and utterly reckless”. The race, he wrote, “provided a spectacle – as, in days past, did public executions and the games at the Colosseum.” He was not alone – the race should never have been run.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Grand_National

https://www.racingpost.com/news/alastair-down-1956-2024/you-can-wash-the-mud-off-the-silks-but-not-the-stain-off-the-race-alastair-down-on-a-rancid-2001-grand-national-awYm33O8aMXw

4. 1997 Grand National postponed due to an IRA bomb threat

Charles Barnett was appointed Managing Director of Aintree in 1993. Running the racecourse and, particularly, managing the Grand National meeting is a big job that must be highly pressured even when things are going well. When things go badly, the stress can go off the scale. Such was the case in 1997, the year in which the feature race was due to be run for the 150^th time. The year also incidentally marked the last commentary of broadcasting legend, Peter O’Sullevan.

Saturday 5^th April started without a hint of the drama that was to follow. The crowd flooded in and the first three races went off without a hitch. Everything changed just before 3pm when Barnett received a phone call from the local police control room. They advised Barnett that two bomb threats had been received by callers using a recognised codeword used by the Provisional IRA. The callers had warned that at least one explosive device had been planted within Aintree Racecourse.

In the run-up to the 1997 general election (set for 1^st May) there had been increased activity from the IRA and several events had been disrupted. This was by some distance the most heavily populated, with 60,000 race goers and workers inside the Aintree boundaries, as well, of course, as many horses.

At first, people were advised to evacuate from the stands to the course itself, but it was then decided that this space needed to be cleared as well. So, 10s of thousands of people were forced out of the grounds and into Liverpool and the surrounding area. The evacuees included all the broadcast teams, with the unflappable Des Lynam having to migrate to the car park to report before being advised on live TV to leave, and actor Gregory Peck, later spotted outside a McDonalds eating a burger. Many of those leaving the course left their belongings behind, thinking that the security alert would be short-lived and they would be back in place shortly.

The crisis did show Liverpool and Liverpudlians at their best. Many racegoers who had travelled to the race were left stranded and had to be put up in hotels, emergency accommodation or in the houses of generous locals. Most of the horses were either taken home or moved to nearby Haydock Park.

There was a controlled explosion on a suspect package just after 4pm, but it did not reveal a bomb and it seems as though one was never planted at the racecourse. The terrorists, though, had achieved their objective of causing fear and disruption.  

It took a couple of days for the race to be run. A smaller, but not inconsiderable, crowd of 20,000 turned up on the Monday to watch 14/1 shot, Lord Gyllene, win comfortably from Suny Bay and Camelot Knight. Sadly, his victory will be remembered less than the bomb threat that ruined many people’s big day out.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct4shm

https://www.racingpost.com/app-exclusive/ive-never-been-so-terrified-bomb-threats-booze-and-the-monday-national-awSpA8Y9IkQf

5. Crisp runs out of steam in the 1973 Grand National

It is perhaps controversial to select one of the most epic races of all-time and one that marked the birth of perhaps the greatest Grand National legend as a worst moment, but Red Rum’s amazing victory in 1973 was at least as notable for Crisp’s failure to win.

Crisp was an outstanding Australian horse whose owners had brought him to England to escape punitive handicapping in his native country. After impressing in his early starts in the UK, Crisp was installed as favourite for the 1973 Grand National, at 9/1. Alongside him in the betting was an Irish horse trained by in nearby Southport by Ginger McCain, Red Rum. Although less experienced and not as strong as Crisp, Red Rum had the advantage of carrying 23 pounds less than his Australian rival (10st 5lb vs the top weight of 12st).   

The race, in truth, did not resemble a race for almost all of its distance. Crisp strode out into an early lead and was 20-25 lengths in front by the time he entered the second circuit. Never in any trouble getting over the fences and running powerfully throughout, he continued to hold a huge gap over the only horse in any sort of contention, Red Rum, as he crossed the last. As he rounded the final kink in the track to the finishing straight there was only one winner.

There was, however, to be a twist. Red Rum’s jockey, Brian Fletcher, had clearly kept something in reserve with his horse, whereas Richard Pitman on Crisp had perhaps not preserved enough energy with his. Crisp seemed suddenly to be treading in treacle while Red Rum gained with every step. Even with just a furlong to go, Crisp was still firm favourite but Red Rum was relentless and overhauled his rival yards before the finishing post to win by ¾ of length. The next horse to finish – L’Escargot, a two-time Gold Cup winner and future winner (1975) of the National – trailed in fully 25 lengths behind.

Crisp had the consolation that he had run the second fastest race of all time, and of being generally rated the best Grand National runner not to win. But that is really no consolation whatsoever for a great horse and a pretty good jockey.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/apr/12/red-rum-v-crisp-50-years-on-from-the-most-gripping-grand-national-of-all-horse-racing

https://www.racingpost.com/news/features/series/he-might-not-have-won-but-1973-will-always-be-remembered-as-crisps-national-aKlFv5I3aoKc