The Grimthorpe Handicap Chase is a

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

handicap

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

in England which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

over a distance of about 3 miles and 2

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

s (3 miles, 2 furlongs and 1 yard or ) and during the race there are 19 fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year in late February or early March. Prior to the early 1980s the Grimthorpe Chase was run over two miles and 150 yards. The distance was then nearly doubled to a stamina testing four miles and 100 yards. The distance was changed again to the current trip in the 1990s, when it was run as the Velka Pardubicka Grimthorpe Chase, a reference to Velká pardubická, a famous race run in the Czech Republic over varied obstacles. The race is now considered to be a trial for 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 ...

. The race is named in honour of the Grimthorpe family who have been involved in racing for many years.

Ralph Beckett, 3rd Baron Grimthorpe Ralph William Ernest Beckett, 3rd Baron Grimthorpe, Territorial Decoration, TD, Deputy Lieutenant, DL (1891–1963), was a banker and breeder of racehorses. Beckett was son of Ernest Beckett, 2nd Baron Grimthorpe. He was a partner in the Leeds firm ...

owned Fragrant Mac (winner 1952 Scottish Grand National) and Fortina (winner 1947 Cheltenham Gold Cup). Christopher Beckett, the fourth Baron, was a member of the

Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and both the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, amo ...

and director of

Thirsk Racecourse Thirsk Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, England. The course is a left handed oval of about 1 mile 2 furlongs with a 3 furlong finishing straight and a 6 furlong chute. The present course opened ...

, and the current Baron Grimthorpe, Teddy Beckett, is chairman of

York Racecourse York Racecourse is a horse racing venue in York, North Yorkshire, England. It is the third biggest racecourse in Britain in terms of total prize money offered, and second behind Ascot Racecourse, Ascot in prize money offered per meeting. It att ...

and racing manager to Khalid Abdullah.

Winners since 1985

References

Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting publisher which is published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 6 ...

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Winners since 1985

See also

References