2015 Grand National
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The 2015 Grand National (officially known as the 2015
Crabbie's Crabbie's is a Scottish brand traditionally known for its green ginger wine and blended whiskies produced at John Crabbie & Co's extensive premises in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland. That company has changed its name and its business is unr ...
Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 168th annual running 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 ...
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 ...
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
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, England. The showpiece
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 ...
took place on 11 April 2015, the final day of a three-day meeting. A field of 39 runners competed for a share of the £1 million prize fund, and all returned safely to the stables following the race. The 2015 National was won by
Many Clouds Many Clouds (21 April 2007 – 28 January 2017) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2015 Grand National. After being sold as a foal, he was sent to England and trained for a National Hunt racing ...
, ridden by
Leighton Aspell Leighton Aspell (born 12 June 1976) is a retired Irish jockey, whose wins include the Champion Four Year Old Hurdle riding United, two runnings of the Welsh National, the 2014 Grand National riding Pineau de Re and the 2015 Grand National riding ...
and trained by
Oliver Sherwood Oliver James Sherwood (born May 23, 1955) is a National Hunt trainer. Background Sherwood’s parents – Nat and Heather Sherwood – were both talented point-to-point horse riders. They each won many races during the 1950s and 1960s. Sherw ...
. This was Aspell's second consecutive Grand National victory, having won aboard
Pineau de Re Pineau de Re (foaled 8 May 2003) is a French-bred, British-trained AQPS racehorse best known for winning the 2014 Grand National. Background Pineau de Re is a bay gelding with no white markings bred in France by Michel Hardy. His sire Marres ...
in
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
. Many Clouds is owned by
Trevor Hemmings Trevor James Hemmings (11 June 1935 – 11 October 2021) was a British billionaire businessman. Early life Hemmings was born in Woolwich, London, the son of a Royal Ordnance factory worker father. During the Second World War, part of the Royal ...
, who also owned the winners in
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
and
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
. The race was sponsored by ginger-beer producer Crabbie's for the second year. It was broadcast live on television by
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
, which took over the television rights after 2012; and on radio by
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...
, which has held the radio rights since 1927, and Talksport, which was covering the race live for the second time.


Race card

Entries for the 2015 Grand National closed on 3 February 2015 and 98 entrants were announced the following day, down from the record 115 that had been received for the 2014 race. Prior to the handicap announcement one horse was scratched, while another was ruled out as unqualified. Handicap weights were announced by the
British Horseracing Authority The British Horseracing Authority, also known simply as the BHA, is the regulatory authority for horse racing in Great Britain. It was formed on 31 July 2007, after the merger of the British Horseracing Board (BHB) and the Horseracing Regulato ...
in London on 17 February. A scratching deadline on 3 March saw the total number of horses reduced to 87; the second scratching deadline on 24 March reduced the field to 74. The five-day confirmation stage took place on 6 April and left 65 potential runners, reduced to 40 on 9 April. One horse, number 14 Carlito Brigante, was subsequently declared a non-runner, reducing the field to 39 – the first time since 2004 that the maximum 40 did not start. *Great Britain unless stated. *Amateur jockeys denoted by preceding title, e.g. Mr. Robbie McNamara was due to ride Lord Windermere but withdrew due to injury.


Race overview

The race saw a larger than usual number of fallers on the first lap, including the favoured Balthazar King, whose fall at the
Canal Turn The Canal Turn is a fence on Aintree Racecourse's National Course and thus is jumped during the Grand National Steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase which is held annually at the racecourse, located near Liverpool, England. Named for the Leeds ...
led to the field being diverted around that fence on the final lap. Jockey
Ruby Walsh Rupert Walsh (born 14 May 1979 in Kill, County Kildare, Ireland) is an Irish former jockey. He is the second child, and eldest son, of former champion amateur jockey Ted Walsh and his wife Helen. Walsh is the third most prolific winner in Britis ...
(whose horse Ballycasey was brought down) helped stewards alert the field to the diversion. Balthazar King suffered broken ribs in the fall. Many eyes were on
Tony 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 ...
on the favourite Shutthefrontdoor on what was his last Grand National. He told the media he would retire immediately after the race if he won but his mount ran out of stamina on the home turn and eventually finished fifth. It was left to
Many Clouds Many Clouds (21 April 2007 – 28 January 2017) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2015 Grand National. After being sold as a foal, he was sent to England and trained for a National Hunt racing ...
, ridden by
Leighton Aspell Leighton Aspell (born 12 June 1976) is a retired Irish jockey, whose wins include the Champion Four Year Old Hurdle riding United, two runnings of the Welsh National, the 2014 Grand National riding Pineau de Re and the 2015 Grand National riding ...
, to come through to win the race. Aspell became the first rider to win successive Nationals since
Brian Fletcher Brian Fletcher (18 May 1947 – 11 January 2017) was an English jockey known for riding the horse Red Rum to win the Grand National in 1973 and 1974 and for second place in 1975. He first won the Grand National at the age of 20, in 1968 ridi ...
rode
Red Rum Red Rum (3 May 1965 – 18 October 1995) was a champion Thoroughbred steeplechaser. He achieved an unmatched historic treble when he won the Grand National in 1973, 1974 and 1977, and also came second in the two intervening years, 1975 and ...
to victory in 1973 and 1974. Saint Are finished second, with Monbeg Dude third, and Alvarado fourth for the second time.
Pineau de Re Pineau de Re (foaled 8 May 2003) is a French-bred, British-trained AQPS racehorse best known for winning the 2014 Grand National. Background Pineau de Re is a bay gelding with no white markings bred in France by Michel Hardy. His sire Marres ...
, the previous year's winner and now ridden by
Daryl Jacob Daryl Jacob is an Irish National Hunt jockey who rode for trainer Paul Nicholls as second jockey to Ruby Walsh. When Walsh left the Nicholas yard Jacob took over as principal rider. He won at the Cheltenham festival for the first time in 2011 ...
, finished 12th.


Finishing order

Nineteen runners completed the course as follows:


Non-finishers


Broadcasting and media

With Clare Balding unavailable to present Channel 4's coverage, due to her BBC commitments as
The Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. There are separate men's ...
was unusually held on the same day,
Nick Luck Nicholas Edward Francis Luck (born 28 June 1978) is an English racing broadcaster, who previously presented ''Channel 4 Racing'' on Channel 4. He appeared on Racing UK at its launch in 2004 after 18 months as part of the original Racing Chann ...
therefore led the coverage, being the first male lead presenter of the race since 1999. Luck's usual role of anchoring the event from the trackside studio was filled by Emma Spencer, supported by Jim McGrath and Graham Cunningham. Reports were provided by
Mick Fitzgerald Michael Fitzgerald (born 10 May 1970) is a retired Irish National Hunt jockey and current television racing pundit. Fitzgerald rode for the majority of his career in Great Britain and less often Ireland. Career as a Jockey Mick Fitzgerald's ca ...
and Alice Plunkett and betting updates by Tanya Stevenson and Brian Gleeson. To broaden the scope of its coverage, flat racing jockey
Frankie Dettori Lanfranco Dettori (; born 15 December 1970), better known as Frankie Dettori, is an Italian horse racing jockey based in the United Kingdom. Dettori has been British flat racing Champion Jockey three times and has ...
joined the team as a guest reporter for race day and more emphasis was placed on style and fashion of racegoers and celebrities, with fashion expert
Gok Wan Kowkhyn Wan (; born 9 September 1974), known as Gok Wan, is a British Wardrobe stylist, fashion consultant, author, television presenter, actor, DJ, chef and event manager. Initially training in the performing arts at the Central School of Sp ...
presenting segments on both race day and the preceding 'Ladies Day' on the festival meeting. The commentary team was by Richard Hoiles,
Ian Bartlett Ian Bartlett is a horse racing commentator and occasionally was an analyst for the BBC. He has also commentated for Channel 4 Racing. Bartlett has always been associated with his role at Aintree. He commentated for SIS's feed of their Grand Nati ...
and
Simon Holt Simon Holt (born 21 February 1958) is an English composer. Biography Simon Holt was born in Bolton, Lancashire on 21 February 1958. Educated at Bolton School, Holt immersed himself in organ, piano and visual art during his sixth form years. ...
, who called the winner home for the third time. Following the race, Spencer, Fitzgerald and Hoiles guided viewers on a fence-by-fence analysis of the race. Further Channel 4 programming in the build-up to the race included special editions of chatshow ''Alan Carr: Chatty Man'' and ''Sunday Brunch'', the latter being shown under the title of ''Weekend Brunch'', with segments of the programme coming direct from Aintree. The
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 exam. ...
...
continued an unbroken run of 83 consecutive renewals of the race to be broadcast live on radio, dating back to 1927. The race was part of its 5 Live Sport broadcast, presented by
Mark Pougatch Mark Charles Albert Pougatch (born 27 January 1968) is an English radio and television broadcaster, a journalist and author who is currently the Chief Sport Presenter for ITV Sport, fronting their major football and rugby coverage. He is also ...
with pre-race build-up from former National riders
Andrew Thornton Andrew Thornton is a retired National Hunt jockey. Early life He was born on 28 October 1972 in Cleveland and schooled at Barnard Castle School in County Durham. He is not related to another English jockey, Robert Thornton. Riding career He ro ...
and Luke Harvey.
Cornelius Lysaght Cornelius Lysaght ( , born 1965 in Gloucester, England) is a British journalist and broadcaster who was the BBC's horse racing correspondent from 2001 until 2020. Lysaght was raised in Herefordshire and educated at Eton College. He began broadc ...
interviewed connections in the ring and Rob Nothman provided market updates. The commentary team for the race itself was Malcolm Tomlinson, Darren Owen, Gary O'Brien and John Hunt, who called the finish.


See also

*
Horseracing in Great Britain Horse racing is the second largest spectator sport in Great Britain, and one of the longest established, with a history dating back many centuries. According to a report by the British Horseracing Authority it generates £3.39 billion total di ...
*
List of British National Hunt races A list of notable National Hunt horse races which take place annually in Great Britain, under the authority of the British Horseracing Authority, including all races which currently hold Grade 1, 2 or 3 status. History of the National Hunt Patter ...


References


External links

{{Grand National 2015
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 ...
21st century in Merseyside
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April 2015 sports events in the United Kingdom