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1977 Grand National
The 1977 Grand National (officially known as the ''News of the World'' Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 131st renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 2 April 1977. The race is best remembered for being Red Rum's third Grand National win, a record that still stands today. He completed the course in 9 minutes 30.3 seconds and went off as 9/1 joint-favourite. Background Before the race, Red Rum was generally thought too old — at the age of 12 — to win the Grand National for a third time, having come home first in 1973 and 1974, and second in 1975 and 1976. However, being ridden by jockey Tommy Stack for the second consecutive National, the gelding clinched his unprecedented third title, bringing his career earnings to a then steeplechasing record of £114,000. Red Rum's 1976/77 season had begun badly. After an initial small win at Carlisle he appeared lacklustre in his next four races, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand National
The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap steeplechase over an official distance of about 4 miles and 2½ furlongs (), with horses jumping 30 fences over two laps.''British Racing and Racecourses'' () by Marion Rose Halpenny – Page 167 It is the most valuable jump race in Europe, with a prize fund of £1 million in 2017. An event that is prominent in British culture, the race is popular amongst many people who do not normally watch or bet on horse racing at other times of the year. The course over which the race is run features much larger fences than those found on conventional National Hunt tracks. Many of these fences, particularly Becher's Brook, The Chair and the Canal Turn, have become famous in their own right and, combined with the distance of the event, create what h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jockey
A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual who rode horses in racing. They must be light, typically around a weight of 100-120 lb., and physically fit. They are typically self-employed and are paid a small fee from the horse trainer and a percentage of the horse's winnings. Jockeys are mainly male, though there are some well-known female jockeys too. The job has a very high risk of debilitating or life-threatening injuries. Etymology The word is by origin a diminutive of ''jock'', the Northern English or Scots colloquial equivalent of the first name ''John'', which is also used generically for "boy" or "fellow" (compare ''Jack'', ''Dick''), at least since 1529. A familiar instance of the use of the word as a name is in "Jockey of Norfolk" in Shakespeare's ''Richard III''. v. 3, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canal Turn
The Canal Turn is a fence on Aintree Racecourse's National Course and thus is jumped during the Grand National Steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase which is held annually at the racecourse, located near Liverpool, England. Named for the Leeds & Liverpool Canal which passes alongside the racecourse at this point, it is jumped twice during the race, as the and fences. The fence is notable for the sharp left turn that the runners have to take as soon as they have negotiated the fence. The turn is almost 90 degrees and it is not uncommon for jockeys to become unbalanced as they change course; unseatings and falls are common. Seven equine fatalities have been recorded at the Canal Turn in Grand Nationals since the race was first run officially in 1839 Grand National, 1839; the most recent death was that of The Last Fling in 2002 Grand National, 2002. The Canal Turn has been the scene of a number of incidents that have had a major impact upon the outcome of the Grand National. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sam Morshead
Samuel Rodd Morshead MBE (11 June 1955 – 25 September 2018) was an Irish jockey who competed in National Hunt racing and later became a successful horse racing administrator. Morshead's parents were from Cornwall but he was born and brought up in Ireland. He began his career as a jockey in Ireland and rode his first winner at Fairyhouse Racecourse in April 1973. He moved to Britain at the age of 20 and spent the majority of his career at the stable of Fred Rimell, continuing as jockey for Rimell's widow, Mercy, after the trainer's death in 1981. He retired from riding after a bad fall at Worcester in 1987. His most notable victory as a rider came when Another Dolly was awarded the victory in the 1980 Queen Mother Champion Chase after the disqualification of Chinrullah for failing a dope test. Morshead also gained Cheltenham Festival successes on Gaye Chance in the 1981 Sun Alliance Novices' Hurdle and the 1984 Stayers' Hurdle. He rode over 400 winners in a British career lasting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Chair (Aintree Racecourse)
The Chair is a fence on Aintree Racecourse's National Course and thus is one of 30 that are jumped during the Grand National steeplechase which is held annually at the racecourse near Liverpool, England. It is the 15th fence that the runners jump and is one of only two (the other being the 16th, the Water Jump) in the race to be negotiated only once. Positioned in front of the grandstand, it is the tallest fence on the course, at , preceded by a open ditch on the takeoff side. The Chair is also comfortably the narrowest fence on the Grand National course, bar the Water Jump. The landing side of The Chair fence is actually above the ground on the takeoff side, creating the reverse effect to that at the Becher's Brook fence, meaning the ground comes up to meet horse and rider sooner than anticipated. Generally it is jumped fairly safely by most horses in the Grand National field, probably due to the lengthy run they have before reaching the fence, and because, by the time the fen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Dickinson (horseman)
Michael W. Dickinson (born 3 February 1950 in Yorkshire, England) is a retired Champion Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Having been educated at Rossall School, Dickinson was an amateur champion rider before becoming a professional jockey for 10 years. His rides included a Classic winner, Boucher. Lester Piggot rode Boucher when it won the 1972 St Leger at Doncaster. Training career Dickinson got his trainer's licence in 1980, taking over his parents' stables. He trained at Dunkeswick near Harewood in Yorkshire and was the Champion Trainer of National Hunt racing for three years in England. Two of his formative years were spent under the tutelage of Vincent O'Brien, the legendary Irish trainer who was master of Ballydoyle, the training center in County Tipperary. Michael Dickinson is perhaps most famous for his extraordinary feat of training the first five in the 1983 Cheltenham Gold Cup. In order: Bregawn, Captain John, Wayward Lad, Silver Buck, and Ashley House. The BBC h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dessie Hughes
Dessie Hughes was an Irish racehorse trainer and jockey. He was the father of British champion jockey, Richard Hughes, and won at the Cheltenham Festival as both jockey and trainer. Career As a jockey Hughes' most famous successes in the saddle came at the Cheltenham Festival. In 1977, he partnered the Mick O'Toole-trained Davy Lad to success in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Two years later, he was victorious in one of the most famous clashes in jumps racing history when Monksfield rode to a famous victory over Sea Pigeon in the Champion Hurdle. As a trainer Hughes had always planned to train and having prepared for three years, he took out his training licence in 1980. Light The Wad was an early success for the fledgling yard, winning the Irish Arkle at Leopardstown in 1982 and successive renewals of the Drogheda Chase at the Punchestown Festival in 1981 and 1982. That same year, 1982, he sent out Miller Hill to win the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Carberry
Tommy Carberry (15 September 1941 – 12 July 2017) was a Irish jockey who rode mostly in National Hunt races. He was Irish jump racing Champion Jockey four times. He is best known for winning the 1975 Grand National on L'Escargot. He rode a total of 16 Cheltenham Festival winners, including L'Escargot in the 1970 and 1971 Gold Cup and Ten Up in the 1975 Gold Cup. After retiring from race riding in 1982 he became a trainer and in 1999 saddled the winner of the Grand National, Bobbyjo. Career At the age of fifteen Carberry was apprenticed to trainer Jimmy Lenehan and rode his first winner on Ben Beoch in 1958. He went on to win the champion apprentice jockey title in 1959. He then moved to the yard of National Hunt trainer Dan Moore, where he remained as stable jockey for the rest of his career. In 1962 he rode his first winner at the Cheltenham Festival on the Moore-trained Tripacer in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle. Carberry won the 1970 and 1971 Cheltenham Gold Cup on L'Escarg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Champion
Robert Champion (born 4 June 1948) is an English former jump jockey, who won the 1981 Grand National on Aldaniti. His triumph, while recovering from cancer, was made into the 1984 film ''Champions'', with John Hurt portraying Champion. The film is based on Champion's book ''Champion's Story'', which he wrote with close friend, racing journalist and broadcaster Jonathan Powell. Biography Champion was born in Sussex, but very soon after his birth the family moved to Guisborough in the North Riding of Yorkshire. At the height of his career as a jockey, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in July 1979. He was treated with an orchidectomy and with the chemotherapeutic drugs bleomycin, vinblastine and cisplatin, and also had an exploratory operation to identify cancer in his lymph nodes. His victory on Aldaniti was viewed by many as a great triumph, following his adversity. Their victory in the Grand National earned them that year's BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stone (unit)
The stone or stone weight (abbreviation: st.) is an English and imperial unit of mass equal to 14 pounds (6.35 kg). The stone continues in customary use in the United Kingdom for body weight. England and other Germanic-speaking countries of northern Europe formerly used various standardised "stones" for trade, with their values ranging from about 5 to 40 local pounds (roughly 3 to 15 kg) depending on the location and objects weighed. With the advent of metrication, Europe's various "stones" were superseded by or adapted to the kilogram from the mid-19th century on. Antiquity The name "stone" derives from the use of stones for weights, a practice that dates back into antiquity. The Biblical law against the carrying of "diverse weights, a large and a small" is more literally translated as "you shall not carry a stone and a stone (), a large and a small". There was no standardised "stone" in the ancient Jewish world, but in Roman times stone weights were c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valentine's Brook
Valentine's Brook is a fence on Aintree Racecourse's National Course and thus is jumped during the Grand National steeplechase which is held annually at the racecourse, located near Liverpool, England. Originally named as the Second Brook, it was renamed after a horse named Valentine was reputed to have jumped the fence hind legs first in 1840. The horse eventually finished third. It is jumped twice during the race, as the and fences. The fence is similar to, but less daunting than, Becher's Brook Becher's Brook ( ) is a fence jumped during the Grand National, a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. It is jumped twice during the race, as the and fence, as well as on four other occasions ..., being 5 feet high and followed by a ditch of 5 feet 6 inches. It accounts for around 2% of fallers in the Grand National race. The fence has, however, caused several fatalities in races run over the course, and calls have been made f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip Blacker
Philip Blacker (b. 1949) was a jockey until his retirement in 1982. Since then, he has been a sculptor of sporting arts. He is the son of Cecil Blacker. Career Jockey Blacker became a professional jockey at the start of the 1969/1970 season and remained so for 13 years, during which time he rode 340 winners. He is a Member of the Jockey Club, and has sat on various committees including the British Horseracing Authorities Security and Investigations Committee. In 1973 Blacker finished fourth on Spanish Steps in the first Grand National won by Red Rum. In 1977 Blacker finished seventh on Happy Ranger to Red Rum, winning his third and final Grand National. Blacker said that 1982 was "my one big chance to win the race". However, Blacker had taken a ride at Ludlow the day before the Grand National where he fell and broke his arm. In his absence, Royal Mail was ridden by another jockey and the horse fell at Becher's Brook fence. "That horse needed a rider that knew him and on that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
