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Foinavon
Foinavon (1958–1971) was an Irish racehorse. He won the Grand National in 1967 at odds of 100/1 after the rest of the field fell, refused or were hampered or brought down in a mêlée at the 23rd fence. The fence was officially named after Foinavon in 1984. He was at one point owned by Anne Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster, whose colours were also carried by Arkle. Both horses were named after Scottish mountains. Early life and career Foinavon’s sire was the French-bred Vulgan who was based at Blackrath Farm in County Kildare, Ireland. Vulgan was a leading National Hunt sire, producing winners of the Champion Hurdle, Cheltenham Gold Cup and three Grand Nationals. Foinavon’s dam was Ecilace, a nineteen-year-old broodmare who had never raced but had already foaled Umm, the winner of the 1955 Irish Grand National. She was owned by a dairy farmer in County Limerick who paid 47 guineas to have her covered by Vulgan. Foinavon was foaled in 1958 and spent the first year and ...
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1967 Grand National
The 1967 Grand National was the 121st renewal of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 8 April 1967. The race is best remembered for being won by outsider Foinavon at odds of 100/1, after avoiding a mêlée at the 23rd fence and jumping it at the first attempt. By Becher's Brook on the second circuit 28 horses were left in the race and all jumped it successfully. One horse, Vulcano, had been injured in a fall at the third fence and was euthanised. The most dramatic moment of the race, and perhaps of Grand National history, came when a loose horse – Popham Down, who had been hampered and unseated his rider at the first fence – veered dramatically to his right at the 23rd fence, slamming into Rutherfords, unseating its jockey Johnny Leech. A pile-up ensued. Rondetto, Norther, Princeful, Leedsy and other horses hit the ground, then began running up and down the fence preventing others from jumping and ...
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Grand National
The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap steeplechase over an official distance of about , with horses jumping 30 fences over two laps.'' British Racing and Racecourses'' () by Marion Rose Halpenny – Page 167 It is the most valuable jump race in Europe, with a prize fund of £1 million in 2017. An event that is prominent in British culture, the race is popular amongst many people who do not normally watch or bet on horse racing at other times of the year. The course over which the race is run features much larger fences than those found on conventional National Hunt tracks. Many of these fences, particularly Becher's Brook, The Chair and the Canal Turn, have become famous in their own right and, combined with the distance of the event, create what has been ...
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John Buckingham (jockey)
John Buckingham (10 July 1940 – 22 December 2016) was an English National Hunt jockey, best known for riding Foinavon to victory in the 1967 Grand National. Buckingham was born at Five Ways, Hatton, Warwickshire, one of the four children of Nancy Bewley and Thomas Buckingham. He was apprenticed aged 15 to the trainer Edward Courage in Oxfordshire. His first win came at Southwell on Sahagun in 1959. Buckingham had never ridden in the Grand National when, a few days before the race in 1967, he was offered the ride on outsider Foinavon, a ride that had already been turned down by three jockeys. Foinavon started the Grand National at odds of 100/1. Neither his trainer nor his owner were at Aintree, trainer John Kempton having gone to Worcester to ride another of his horses. Of the 44 starters, 28 were still in the race as they approached Becher's Brook on the second circuit, with Foinavon going well in 22nd place, just behind the favourite Honey End. Leading the field were two rid ...
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National Hunt Racing
National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, horse racing in Great Britain, Great Britain and horse racing in Ireland, Ireland. Jump Racing requires horses to jump over fences and ditches. In the UK, National Hunt Racing is divided into two major distinct branches: Hurdling (horse race), Hurdling and Steeplechase (horse racing), Steeplechase, as well as flat races called National Hunt flat race, “Bumpers”. Hurdling involves horses jumping over Hurdling, Hurdles, while Steeplechase involves the horses jumping over a variety of different obstacles that includes fences, Open water jump#Water, water jump or an open ditch. Some of the biggest National Hunt events of the year in the UK are the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Overview The National Hunt season primarily occurs during the winter months when softer ground conditions make jumping safer for horses. The ...
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Aintree Racecourse
Aintree Racecourse is a horse racing, racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England, near to Liverpool. The racecourse is the venue for the Grand National steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase, which takes place annually in April over three days. Aintree also holds meetings in May, October (Sunday), November and December (both Saturdays). The Aintree Racecourse had suffered three major disruptions in post-war history, starting with the 1993 Grand National due to a series of false starts and no winner was announced, followed by the 1997 Grand National, postponed to Monday because of an IRA bomb threat and the 2023 Grand National was delayed due to Animal Rights protesters. History of the course Horse racing was popular in Liverpool from at least Tudor dynasty, Tudor times, In the 18th century Nicholas Blundell organised races on the sands at Crosby, Merseyside, Crosby. In 1829, William Lynn, the owner of the Waterloo Hotel in Ranelagh Street, Liverpool, approached the Second E ...
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Becher's Brook
Becher's Brook ( ) is a fence jumped during the Grand National, a National Hunt Horse racing, horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. It is jumped twice during the race, as the and fence, as well as on four other occasions during the year. It has always been a notorious and controversial obstacle, because of the size and angle of the drop on the landing side. Some jockeys have compared it to "jumping off the edge of the world." After the deaths of Dark Ivy in the 1987 Grand National and Seeandem and Brown Trix in the 1989 Grand National, all at Becher's Brook, Aintree bowed to pressure from animal rights groups and undertook extensive modifications to the fence. Further changes were made after two horses, Ornais and Dooneys Gate, died during the 2011 Grand National, the latter at Becher's. The incident involving Dooneys Gate resulted in the fence being jumped only once for the first time in the race's history; it was bypassed on the outside on t ...
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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 commentator from 1947 to 1997, during which time he described some of the greatest moments in the history of the Grand National. Early life The son of Colonel John Joseph O'Sullevan , resident magistrate at Killarney, and Vera (''née'' Henry), Peter O'Sullevan was born in Newcastle, County Down before returning as an infant to his parents' home at Kenmare, County Kerry; he was brought up in Surrey, England. He was educated at Hawtreys, Charterhouse, and later at Collège Alpin International Beau Soleil in Switzerland. Career O'Sullevan was involved, in the late 1940s, in some of the earliest television commentaries on any sport, and made many radio commentaries in his earlier years (including the Grand National before it was televised for t ...
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1968 Grand National
The 1968 Grand National was the 122nd renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 30 March 1968. The winner was the nine-year-old Red Alligator, by 20 lengths. He was ridden by jockey Brian Fletcher, who later rode Red Rum to victory in 1973 and 1974. Tim Durant on Highlandie became the oldest jockey ever to complete the course at the age of 68. Finishing order Non-finishers Media coverage The race was shown in a special edition of Grandstand on the BBC which was presented by David Coleman. The commentary team remained the same as the previous year, Peter O'Sullevan, Bob Haynes, Michael O'Hehir and Michael Seth-Smith. This was to be the final Grand National commentary for Bob Haynes. References 1968 1968 Grand National Grand National Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse ...
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Compton, Berkshire
Compton is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the River Pang valley in the Berkshire Downs about south of Didcot. Geography Compton is buffered from neighbouring settlements by cultivated fields to all sides. The village is in a gently-sloped dry valley and the fledgling Pang seasonally enters from the north west and discharges in the south east and may be joined at the centre of the village by the Roden from the north, when winter bournes rise to fill their channels. Elevations vary from Ordnance Datum, AOD. Compton has a Site of Special Scientific Interest, site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) just to the south west of the village, called Ashridge Wood. Parish church The bell tower of the Church of England parish church of Mary (mother of Jesus), Saint Mary and Saint Nicholas was built in the 13th centuryPevsner, 1965, page 120 and has Perpendicular Gothic features that were added in the 15th century.Page & Ditchfield, 1925, pages 15-21 In 1850 the ...
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King George VI Chase
The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of about 3 miles (4,828 metres), and during its running there are eighteen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year on 26 December, and features as part of the course's Christmas Festival. The event was first run in February 1937, and it was named in honour of the new British monarch, King George VI. It was only run twice before World War II, during which Kempton Park was closed for racing and used as a prisoner-of-war camp. The two pre-war runnings were each contested by four horses. The winner of the first, Southern Hero, remains the race's oldest ever winner. After the war the racecourse re-opened, and the event returned in 1947 on a new date – Boxing Day. The King George VI Chase is now the second mo ...
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Kempton Park Racecourse
Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track together with a alcohol licensing laws of the United Kingdom, licensed entertainment and conference venue in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, on the border with Greater London; it is 13 miles west of Charing Cross in central London. The site has of flat grassland surrounded by woodland with two lakes in its centre. Its entrance borders Kempton Park railway station which was created for racegoers on a Shepperton Branch Line, branch line from London Waterloo railway station, London Waterloo, via Clapham Junction railway station, Clapham Junction. It has adjoining inner and outer courses for flat and National Hunt racing, National Hunt racing. Among its races, the King George VI Chase takes place on Boxing Day, a Grade 1 National Hunt Steeplechase (horse racing), chase which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years or older. History The racecourse was the idea of 19th-century businessman and Conservative Party (UK), Cons ...
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Gelding
A gelding (Help:IPA/English, /ˈɡɛldɪŋ/) is a castration, castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. The term is also used with certain other animals and livestock, such as domesticated Camelidae, camels. By comparison, the equivalent term for castrated male cattle would be List of cattle terminology , ''steer'' (or ''bullock''), and Wether (other), ''wether'' for sheep and goats. Castration allows a male animal to be more calm, better-behaved, less sexually aggressive, and more responsive to training efforts. This makes the animal generally more suitable as an everyday working animal, or as a pet in the case of companion animals. The gerund and participle "gelding" and the infinitive "to geld" refer to the castration procedure itself. Etymology The verb "to geld" comes from the Old Norse language, Old Norse , from the adjective . The noun "gelding" is from the Old Norse . History The Scythians are thought to have been among the first t ...
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