Don't Push It is a

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 ...

-winning

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Debut

Don't Push It began his career on 5 December 2004 at

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

in a

National Hunt flat race National Hunt flat races, informally known as bumper races, are a type of flat racing but run under National Hunt racing rules in Britain and Ireland. National Hunt flat races were created on 15 July 1891 when a conference between the stewards of ...

, finishing third.

2005–06 season

His first full season began at

Market Rasen Market Rasen ( ) is a town and civil parish within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The River Rase runs through it east to west, approximately north-east from Lincoln, east from Gainsborough, 14 miles (23 km) west of Lo ...

on 24 September 2005 where he won a National Hunt flat race. Shortly before Christmas, he had his first start over hurdles, which he also won. However, he did not run again that season.

2006–07 season

Early the next season, he had his first race over fences. He was again victorious and, for the first time, was partnered by

AP McCoy Sir Anthony Peter McCoy (born 4 May 1974), commonly known as AP McCoy or Tony McCoy, is a Northern Irish former National Hunt horse racing jockey. Based in Ireland and the UK, McCoy rode a record 4,358 winners, and was Champion Jockey a reco ...

. He was beaten next time out at

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

in a Novices Chase by

Denman Denman may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Denman Glacier, near Antarctica * Denman Shire, New South Wales, Australia ** Denman, New South Wales, a town in the Hunter Valley of Australia * Denman Island, one of the Gulf Islands of British Columbia, Can ...

, who won by a length despite veering dramatically left handed. A month later, Don't Push It returned to the course to record another victory over fences. His next run was in February at

Chepstow Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western ...

, where he won by 23 lengths. He headed to Cheltenham for the Festival ( Arkle Challenge Trophy) but fell when in with a chance. The race was won by My Way de Solzen. Don't Push It then tried again at

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 only beat one home, finishing fifth.

2010 Grand National

Don't Push It won the

2010 Grand National The 2010 Grand National (officially known as the John Smith's Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 163rd renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 10 April 2010. The main race wa ...

by five lengths ahead of Black Apalachi, giving AP McCoy his first win in 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 ...

at his fifteenth attempt.

Retirement

Don't Push It's retirement was announced on 10 January 2012. O'Neill explained that the twelve-year-old "had not really been sparkling and the last thing we wanted was to make him carry on doing something he was not really happy with."

References

* Grand National winners 2000 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 6-d Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom National Hunt racehorses {{racehorse-stub