Aldaniti (25 June 1970 - 28 March 1997) was a

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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 bas ...

who won the

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 ...

on 4 April 1981. His jockey on that day,

Bob Champion Robert Champion (born 4 June 1948) is an English former jump jockey, who won the 1981 Grand National on Aldaniti. His triumph, while recovering from cancer, was made into the 1984 film ''Champions'', with John Hurt portraying Champion. The fil ...

, had recovered from cancer, while Aldaniti had recovered after suffering a career-threatening injury. The horse was trained by

Josh Gifford Josh Gifford (3 August 1941 – 9 February 2012) was a jockey and trainer in National Hunt racing. He was a four-time Champion Jockey, riding 642 winners in his career. He retired from training in 2002, aged 60, and his son Nick Gifford too ...

. Aldaniti starred as himself in the 1983 film ''

Champions A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world championships, and ...

'' alongside

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was an English actor. Regarded as one of the finest actors of his time and known for the "most distinctive voice in Cinema of the United Kingdom, Britain", he was described by David Ly ...

. His Grand National win was voted 61st of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments in a

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

opinion poll.

Background

Aldaniti was a chestnut gelding bred in the United Kingdom by Harrowgate Stud. His name was derived from the names of his breeder Tommy Barron's four grandchildren, Alastair, David, Nicola, and Timothy. During his racing career he was owned by Nick Embiricos from

Kirdford Kirdford is a village and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. Its nearest town is Petworth, located southwest of the village. The parish has an area of . In the 2001 census 912 people lived in 373 households, of wh ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, and trained by

at Findon.

Racing career

Aldaniti emerged as a top-class steeplechaser in the 1978/79 National Hunt season. He finished third in the 1979

Cheltenham Gold Cup The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlon ...

and second in the

Scottish Grand National The Scottish Grand National is a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Ayr, Scotland, over a distance of ab ...

. He sustained a serious leg injury at

Sandown Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, England. The neighbouring resort of Shanklin and the settlement of Lake, Isle of Wight, Lake are sited just to the south of t ...

in November 1979 and was off the racecourse for over a year. He returned in 1981 with the

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 ...

as his target and established himself as a legitimate contender with a win in the Whitbread Trial Chase at

Ascot Ascot, Ascott or Askot may refer to: Places Australia * Ascot, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane * Ascot, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a locality * Ascot Park, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide * Ascot (Ballarat), town near Ballarat in Victoria ...

in February. 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, northeast of Liverpool city centre. In 2011 the parish had a p ...

the gelding was assigned a weight of 153 pounds, and started the race 10/1 second favourite behind Spartan Missile, a dual winner of the

Fox Hunters' Chase The Foxhunters' Open Hunters' Chase is a National Hunt racing, National Hunt Steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase in Great Britain for amateur riders which is open to horses aged six years or older. It is run at ...

. Aldaniti took the lead at the eleventh fence and maintained his advantage for the rest of the race, fighting off a late challenge from Spartan Missile on the run-in to win by four lengths. The next day, more than 3,000 people turned out to welcome the horse back to his stable at Findon. Aldaniti also ran in the

1982 Grand National The 1982 Grand National (officially known as '' The Sun'' Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 136th running of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 3 April 1982. The ra ...

with Bob Champion, but fell at the first fence.

Retirement

Aldaniti was retired from racing in 1982 and spent the remainder of his life at his owner's farm in

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. He died of old age in March 1997. A

British Rail Class 86 The British Rail Class 86 is a class of electric locomotives built during the 1960s. Developed as a 'standard' electric locomotive from earlier prototype models, one hundred of these locomotives were built from 1965 to 1966 to haul trains on t ...

electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a Battery (electricity), battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime mover (locomotive), ...

was named after him.

Grand National record

Pedigree

References

{{Authority control 1970 racehorse births 1997 racehorse deaths National Hunt racehorses Grand National winners Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 8-k