Ben Nevis (1968 – 26 February 1995) was a British-bred

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

who became the third American-owned steeplechaser to win the

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 ...

Aintree Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, north-east of Liverpool city centre, in North West England. It i ...

and was inducted into the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...

in 2009. In the United States he was known as Ben Nevis II. The racing colours of Ben Nevis were as follows - emerald green and white halved, striped sleeves, white cap.

Early career

Ben Nevis was a chestnut gelding with a white blaze bred in England by A S Pattenden. Ben Nevis was named after a mountain in Scotland. He began his career on the amateur Point-to-point circuit but had little success and was exported to race in the United States.

American career

In America, Ben Nevis was unbeatable, winning eight times while setting two course records. He was a repeat champion of the

Maryland Hunt Cup The Maryland Hunt Cup is a Timber race, which is an American Steeplechase. It was first run on May 26 1894 and won by Johnny Miller. Eight horses have won the race three times but no horse has won it four times. It is considered one of the most d ...

. His other major victories were repeat wins in Maryland's Grand National point to point purse. In 1979, he was taken back to England to attempt to win the prestigious

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 ...

, and was sent to be trained by Captain Tim Forster at

Letcombe Bassett Letcombe Bassett is a village and civil parish about southwest of the market town of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire. The 2011 Cen ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

Return to England

In the 1979 Grand National, Ben Nevis was strongly fancied and started fourth choice in the betting but fell at The Chair obstacle. In the 1980 edition of the race, he went off an

odds Odds provide a measure of the likelihood of a particular outcome. They are calculated as the ratio of the number of events that produce that outcome to the number that do not. Odds are commonly used in gambling and statistics. Odds also have ...

of 40/1 outsider in a race run on heavy going. He was ridden by the American amateur Charlie Fenwick, a

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. By the second circuit, he had taken the lead. At the last jump, he was in front by 10

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...

, and at the end of the race he won by 20. Ben Nevis became the third American-owned jumps racehorse to win the Grand National. He died of

colic Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube ( small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content out ...

in early 1995 at the age of 27, and was buried alongside the 13th fence at the Grand National course in Butler, Maryland.

Hall of fame

In 2009 Ben Nevis was inducted into the

Grand National record

References