The Irish Grand National 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: ...

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 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

which is open to

horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

aged five years or older. It is run at

Fairyhouse Fairyhouse Racecourse is a horse racing venue in the Republic of Ireland. It is situated in the parish of Ratoath in County Meath, on the R155 regional road, off the N3. It hosted its first race in 1848 and since 1870 has been the home of ...

over a distance of about 3 miles and 5 furlongs (5,834 metres), and during its running there are twenty-four fences to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year on

Easter Monday Easter Monday refers to the day after Easter Sunday in either the Eastern or Western Christian traditions. It is a public holiday in some countries. It is the second day of Eastertide. In Western Christianity, it marks the second day of the Octa ...

. It is the Irish equivalent of 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 ...

, and it is held during Fairyhouse's Easter Festival meeting.

History

The event was established in 1870, and the inaugural running was won by a horse called Sir Robert Peel. The race took place at its present venue, and the winner's prize money was 167 sovereigns. In the early part of its history it was often won by horses trained at the

Curragh The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the ...

, and there were ten such winners by 1882. The Easter Monday fixture regularly attracted racegoers from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, and it became known as the Dubs' Day Out. Several winners of the Irish Grand National have also won its English counterpart 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 ...

, but none in the same year. The first to complete the double was Ascetic's Silver, the winner of the latter version in 1906. The feat has been achieved more recently by Rhyme 'n' Reason,

Bobbyjo Bobbyjo (1990 – 2001) was an Irish bred racehorse by Bustineto and Markup, best remembered as the winner of the 1999 Grand National steeplechase at Aintree. Bobbyjo was owned by Bobby Burke Mullaghmore, Co. Galway. Humble Beginnings In 1 ...

and

Numbersixvalverde Numbersixvalverde (born 1996) is an Irish race horse who won both the 2005 Irish Grand National and 2006 Aintree Grand National steeplechase, beating Hedgehunter by six lengths with Niall Madden in the saddle. Numbersixvalverde won his big r ...

. The most successful horse in the event's history is Brown Lad, a three-time winner in the 1970s. Since 1991, the distance of the race has been 3 miles and 5 furlongs; previously it had been 3 miles and 4 furlongs. The Irish Grand National was sponsored by

Irish Distillers Irish Distillers is a subsidiary of the French drinks conglomerate Pernod Ricard. It is the largest distiller of Irish whiskey, distilling popular brands such as Jameson and Powers, in addition to premium whiskeys such as Redbreast and Midleton ...

under various titles for many years up to 2010.

Ladbrokes Ladbrokes Coral is a British gambling company founded in 1886. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. The business is split into two divisions, UK and International. UK operations are c ...

sponsored the race from 2011 to 2013. In 2014, Boylesports took over as Irish Grand National sponsor and appointed the jockey

Barry Geraghty Barry Geraghty (born 16 September 1979) is a retired Irish jockey. He is the second most successful jockey of all time at the Cheltenham Festival. Geraghty rode his first winner in January 1997 and three years later he became the Irish Champio ...

as the first ever ambassador for the race, promoting the race through various channels, including social media.

Records

Winners since 1946

* ''Weights given in

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

s and pounds.''

Earlier winners

* 1870 – Sir Robert Peel * 1871 – The Doe * 1872 – Scots Grey * 1873 – Torrent * 1874 – Sailor * 1875 – Scots Grey * 1876 – Grand National * 1877 – Thiggin-Thue * 1878 – Juggler * 1879 – Jupiter Tonans * 1880 – Controller * 1881 – Antoinette * 1882 – Chantilly * 1883 – The Gift * 1884 – The Gift * 1885 – Billet Doux * 1886 – Castle Lucas * 1887 – Eglentine * 1888 – The Maroon * 1889 – The Citadel * 1890 – Greek Girl * 1891 – Old Tom * 1892 – Springfield Maid * 1893 – Thurles * 1894 – The Admiral * 1895 – Yellow Girl II * 1896 – Royston Crow * 1897 – Breemount's Pride * 1898 – Porridge * 1899 – Princess Hilda * 1900 – Mavis of Meath * 1901 – Tipperary Boy * 1902 – Patlander * 1903 – Kirko * 1904 – Ascetic's Silver * 1905 – Red Lad * 1906 – Brown Bess * 1907 – Sweet Cecil * 1908 – Lord Rivers * 1909 – Little Hack II * 1910 – Oniche * 1911 – II * 1912 – Small Polly * 1913 – Little Hack II * 1914 – Civil War * 1915 – Punch * 1916 – All Sorts * 1917 – Pay Only * 1918 – Ballyboggan * 1919 – ''no race'' * 1920 – Halston * 1921 – Bohernore * 1922 – Halston * 1923 – Be Careful * 1924 – Kilbarry * 1925 – Dog Fox * 1926 – Amberwave * 1927 – Jerpoint * 1928 – Don Sancho * 1929 – Alike * 1930 – Fanmond * 1931 – Impudent Barney * 1932 – Copper Court * 1933 – Red Park * 1934 – Poolgowran * 1935 – Rathfriland * 1936 – Alice Maythorn * 1937 – Pontet * 1938 – Clare County * 1939 – Shaun Peel * 1940 – Jack Chaucer * 1941 – ''no race'' * 1942 –

Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...

* 1943 – Golden Jack * 1944 – Knight's Crest * 1945 – Heirdom

References

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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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pedigreequery.com
– ''Irish Grand National – Fairyhouse.''

– ''Irish Grand National winners.''

History

Records

Winners since 1946

Earlier winners

See also

References

Further reading