1984 Grand National
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The 1984 Grand National (officially known as the
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Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 138th official renewal of the world-famous
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 ...
horse race 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 p ...
that took place at
Aintree Racecourse Aintree Racecourse is a horse racing, racecourse in Aintree, Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, bordering the city of Liverpool. The racecourse is the venue for the Grand National steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase, whi ...
near
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,
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 ...
, on 31 March 1984. For the first time, the field was limited to a maximum of 40 runners. A sell-out crowd at Aintree saw 23 contenders complete the course, breaking the record for most finishers and one which still stands today.
Hallo Dandy Hallo Dandy (1974 - 8 January 2007) was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt racing. He raced in 4 Grand Nationals (1983, 1984, 1985, 1986) winning the 1984 race. He is also known for being discovered in 1994, m ...
won the race, ridden by Welsh jockey Neale Doughty. The pairing had finished fourth in the previous year's National. By the 26th fence Hallo Dandy and last year's runner-up Greasepaint were contesting the lead, which Hallo Dandy took at the second-last and held on to, securing victory by a distance of four lengths. The 1983 winner Corbiere finished third. There was one equine fatality in the race when Earthstopper collapsed and died after finishing in fifth place. Racing colours of Mr Richard Shaw - black, black cap, emerald green spots


Race card

Greasepaint was made market favourite on the day of the race, proving popular to a large section of the general public for whom the National was their only bet of the year due to his having been narrowly beaten into second place in the previous year's race. He was also being given 2 lbs less to carry but had yet to win a race since being transferred to the yard of Dermot Weld who was aiming to land a unique spring double, having saddled the winner of the
Lincoln Handicap The Lincoln Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) at Doncaster in late March or early April. It is ...
a week before the National. Broomy Bank was relatively lightly raced prior to his winning the Kim Muir Challenge Cup at the
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 ...
festival a few weeks before the National but with a 66% win rate he was backed to 12/1 for leading amateur rider, Jim Wilson.Christopher Simpson, Grand Nationals of the 80s Lucky Vane came to Aintree on the back of three victories during the season, the most notable being the
Eider Chase The Eider Chase is National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain. It is run at Newcastle Racecourse in February, over a distance of about 4 miles and furlong (4 miles and 122 yards, or ) and during the rac ...
, regarded by the racing fraternity as a good Grand National trial. The 12/1 chance would also benefit from the most experienced rider in the field, John Burke, taking his tenth ride in the race, having previously won it in
1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
Grittar returned to try to regain the title he claimed in
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, having prepared this year with a creditable third place in the Whitbred trial at Ascot. Although given 2 lbs less than when finishing fifth lest year, it was still 5 lbs more than when victorious. Having been partnered by two different riders in his previous attempts he would again have a new jockey in
John Francome John Francome (born 13 December 1952) is a retired 7 time British Champion Jump Jockey. In addition to being a successful jockey, Francome was previously a racing trainer, broadcaster with Channel 4 and an author. Racing career Francome fir ...
who had missed the ride the previous year through injury and was also a 12/1 chance. Hallo Dandy had been a freely available 33/1 chance for the race at the start of 1984, having been pulled up in the Hennessey Cognac Gold Cup but was the subject of huge gambles when the handicapper seemed to have completely underestimated him by raising him just 1 lb in the weights to run carrying ten stones 2 lbs. A good prep race at
Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...
and conditions at Aintree suggesting the horse would get the good ground he favoured, as opposed to the soft ground upon which he had tired to finish fourth last year only served to enhance his chances with his backers who sent him off at 13/1 in the hands of regular jockey Neale Doughty. The majority of the remainder of the betting public placed their faith with last year's winner and top weighted, Corbiere, Cheltenham Foxhunters winner, Eliogarty,
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runner up, Spartan Missile, who provided the amateur, John White with the best backed mount of the eleven riders making their debut in the race, and Ashley House, who had been a firm ante post favourite for last year's race before being a late withdrawal. At the other end of the market over a quarter of the field were allowed to go off at 100/1 while thirteen of the field carried the minimum allowed weight of ten stones, having been handicapped below that mark.


Finishing order

The Jockey club appointed a new handicapper and starter for this years race with Captain Christopher Mordaunt framing the weights for the race and Captain Michael Sayers starting the race. All five leading contenders ran well throughout the first three quarters of the race and were all well placed to mount a challenge as they jumped the Canal Turn for the second time. Greasepaint kicked on to lead at that stage and was joined four fences from the finish by Hallo Dandy who both began to stretch the chasing field. Broomy Bank and Grittar were among those who began to lose touch while Lucky Vane continued to chase the leaders towards the penultimate fence but was fighting for the minor places by the last fence. Hallo Dandy took a one length lead over Greasepaint at the final fence but was never able to stretch away, keeping the result in doubt right up until the final few strides of the race.


Non-finishers


Media coverage and aftermath

The race was watched by an official attendance of 54,583.Sporting Life Souvenir Magazine, 4 April 1987, page 19 The
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
broadcast the race live on Television for the twenty-fifth consecutive year, as part of its regular Saturday afternoon ''
Grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap a ...
'' programme. This was to be the last year the Grand National coverage was presented by
David Coleman David Robert Coleman OBE (26 April 1926 – 21 December 2013) was a British sports commentator and television presenter who worked for the BBC for 46 years. He covered eleven Summer Olympic Games from 1960 to 2000 and six FIFA World Cups from ...
. Coleman had presented every television National bar (excluding the
1960 Grand National The 1960 Grand National was the 114th renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 26 March 1960. The steeplechase was won by nine-year-old Merryman II, who, at odds of 13/2, became ...
and the
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 19 ...
). For the thirteenth consecutive year, the commentary team consisted of John Hanmer, Julian Wilson and lead commentator,
Peter O'Sullevan Sir Peter O'Sullevan (3 March 1918 – 29 July 2015) was an Irish-British horse racing commentator for the BBC, and a correspondent for the Press Association, the ''Daily Express'', and ''Today''. He was the BBC's leading horse racing commen ...
who was calling his thirty-ninth Grand National on Radio or Television. The race was also broadcast live on BBC Radio for the fifty-third time as part of Radio 2's regular ''Sport on Two'' programme, with
Peter Bromley Peter Bromley (30 April 1929 – 3 June 2003) was BBC Radio's voice of horse racing for 40 years, and one of the most famous and recognised sports broadcasters in the United Kingdom. Early life Born at Heswall on the Wirral (then in Cheshire) ...
calling the winner home.


References


External links

* * {{Grand National 1984
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 ...
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 ...
20th century in Merseyside