Welsh Grand National

Coral Welsh Grand National
Grade 3 race
Location Chepstow Racecourse
Chepstow, Wales
Inaugurated 1895
Race type Chase
Sponsor Coral
Website Chepstow
Race information
Distance 3m 5½f (5,934 metres)
Surface Turf
Track Left-handed
Qualification Four-years-old and up
Weight Handicap
Purse £120,000 (2015)
1st: £68,340
Coral Welsh Grand National
2015
Mountainous Firebird Flyer Shotgun Paddy

The Coral Welsh Grand National is a Grade 3 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Chepstow, Wales, over a distance of about 3 miles and 5½ furlongs (5,934 metres), and during its running there are twenty-two fences to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year late December.

The race was first run in 1895, and it originally took place at Ely Racecourse in Cardiff. It remained at this venue until the closure of the course in 1939. After World War II it was transferred to Caerleon in 1948, and it was then moved to its present venue in 1949. Dick Francis, the famous jockey turned author, rode the first Chepstow winner of the race, Fighting Line. David Nicholson, later a successful racehorse trainer, rode three successive Welsh National winners in 1959, 1960 and 1961.

Originally run on Easter Tuesday, it was moved to February in 1969 with the aim of attracting better horses, albeit with the increased risk of bad weather forcing its cancellation. It was moved to late December in 1979, after that year's original fixture was abandoned due to snow. The meeting is now held the day after Boxing Day and since then the class of runners has improved further, making it an informative guide to future races such as the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Among the winners were Burrough Hill Lad in 1983, who went on to land the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup less than three months later. Trainer Jenny Pitman had the previous season saddled Corbière to win the Welsh and Aintree Nationals. In the late 80s and early 90s, the race was dominated by Somerset trainer Martin Pipe. Bonanza Boy achieved consecutive successes in 1988 and 1989, and in 1991 the giant Carvill's Hill became one of the easiest winners in the history of the race.[1][2]

More recent winners of both the Welsh and the Aintree Grand National are Bindaree and Silver Birch. The 2010 winner, Synchronised, went on to win the 2012 Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Winners since 1948

Year
 Winner
 Age
 Weight
 Jockey
 Trainer
1948 Bora's Cottage 10 10-02 E Reavey H. Ryan Price
1949 Fighting Line 10 10-09 Dick Francis Ken Cundell
1950 Gallery 12 10-08 A Mullins W Bissill
1951 Skyreholme 8 10-13 A Thompson Neville Crump
1952 Dinton Lass 10 10-00 A Mullins J Roberts
1953 Stalbridge Rock 10 11-03 Bob McCreery Harry Dufosee
1954 Blow Horn 10 10-06 J Hunter T Jarvis
1955 Monaleen 10 9-07 P Fitzgerald H T Smith
1956 Crudwell 10 11-06 Dick Francis F Cundell
1957 Creeola II 9 10-05 Michael Scudamore Fred Rimell
1958 Oscar Wilde 8 9-13 Brian Lawrence Bill Wightman
1959 Limonali 8 10-02 David Nicholson E C Morel
1960 Clover Bud 10 10-10 David Nicholson G Llewellin
1961 Limonali 10 11-12 David Nicholson I Lewis
1962 Forty Secrets 8 10-11 Josh Gifford E Jones
1963 Motel 9 10-06 P Cowley W Lowe
1964 Rainbow Battle 8 10-00 Paddy Broderick Arthur Stephenson
1965 Norther 8 11-00 Terry Biddlecombe D Jenkins
1966 Kilburn 8 11-02 T Norman C Nesfield
1967 Happy Spring 11 10-04 Ken White J S Wright
1968 Glenn 7 10-04 Eddie Harty Fred Rimell
1969 Abandoned because of snow
1970 French Excuse 8 10-09 Terry Biddlecombe Fred Rimell
1971 Royal Toss 9 10-12 P Cowley H Handel
1972 Charlie H 10 11-03 Johnny Haine Bob Turnell
1973 Deblin's Green 10 9-12 Nigel Wakley G Yardley
1974 Pattered 8 10-02 Ken White E Jones
1975Abandoned because of waterlogged state of course
1976 Rag Trade 10 11-02 John Burke Fred Rimell
1977Abandoned because of waterlogged state of course
1978 Abandoned because of frost
1979 Peter Scot 8 10-02 Paul Barton David Gandolfo
1980 Narvik 7 10-11 John Francome Neville Crump
1981 Peaty Sandy 7 10-03 Mr Geordie Dun Helen Hamilton
1982 Corbiere 7 10-10 Ben de Haan Jenny Pitman
1983 Burrough Hill Lad 7 10-09 John Francome Jenny Pitman
1984 Righthand Man 7 11-05 Graham Bradley Monica Dickinson
1985 Run and Skip 7 10-08 Peter Scudamore John Spearing
1986 Stearsby 7 11-05 Graham Bradley Jenny Pitman
1987 Playschool 10 10-11 Paul Nicholls David Barons
1988 Bonanza Boy 7 10-01 Peter Scudamore Martin Pipe
1989 Bonanza Boy 8 11-11 Peter Scudamore Martin Pipe
1990 Cool Ground 8 10-00 Luke Harvey Reg Akehurst
1991 Carvill's Hill 9 11-12 Peter Scudamore Martin Pipe
1992 Run for Free 8 10-09 Mark Perrett Martin Pipe
1993 Riverside Boy 10 10-00 Richard Dunwoody Martin Pipe
1994 Master Oats [1] 8 11-06 Norman Williamson Kim Bailey
1995Abandoned because of frost
1996Abandoned because of frost
1997 Earth Summit 9 10-13 Tom Jenks Nigel Twiston-Davies
1998 Kendal Cavalier 8 10-00 Barry Fenton Nigel Hawke
1999 Edmond 7 10-00 Richard Johnson Henry Daly
2000 Jocks Cross 9 10-04 Brian Crowley Venetia Williams
2001 Supreme Glory 8 10-00 Leighton Aspell Pat Murphy
2002 Mini Sensation 9 10-04 Tony Dobbin Jonjo O'Neill
2003 Bindaree 9 10-09 Carl Llewellyn Nigel Twiston-Davies
2004 Silver Birch 7 10-05 Ruby Walsh Paul Nicholls
2005 L'Aventure 6 10-04 Leighton Aspell Paul Nicholls
2006 Halcon Genelardais 6 11-03 Wayne Hutchinson Alan King
2007 Miko de Beauchene 7 10-05 Andrew Thornton Robert Alner
2008 Notre Pere 7 11-00 Andrew Lynch Jim Dreaper
2009 Dream Alliance 8 10-08 Tom O'Brien Philip Hobbs
2010 Synchronised [2] 8 11-06 Tony McCoy Jonjo O'Neill
2011 Le Beau Bai[3] 8 10-01 Charlie Poste Richard Lee
2012[4] Monbeg Dude 8 10-01 Paul Carberry Michael Scudamore
2013 Mountainous 8 10-00 Paul Moloney Richard Lee
2014 Emperor's Choice 7 10-08 Aidan Coleman Venetia Williams
2015[5] Mountainous 11 10-06 Jamie Moore Kerry Lee

1 The 1994 running took place at Newbury.
2 The "2010" running took place in January 2011 after the original fixture was postponed because of snow and frost.
4 The "2012" running was run in January 2013 after the original fixture was postponed because of waterlogging.
5 The "2015" running was run in January 2016 after the original fixture was postponed because of waterlogging.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Lee, Brian. 2002. The Welsh Grand National. ISBN 0-7524-2728-8
  2. ↑ Chepstow racecourse website
  3. ↑ "Le Beau Bai lands Welsh National victory at Chepstow". BBC Sport. 27 December 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2011.


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