The Irish Grand National is an annual racing event which takes place at Fairyhouse Racecourse. The race was first run in 1870 for a total prize of 167 sovereigns, and the winner of this grand prize was a horse named ‘Sir Robert Peele’. Two years later Scots Grey took the prize for the first time and then won again in 1875 to become the first dual winner. The race has been held every year since then, with only two exceptions ? 1919 and 1941, during the First and Second World Wars.Legendary winning horses of the Irish Grand National include Arkle in 1964, Flyingbolt in 1966, Rhyme and Reason in 1985 and Desert Orchid in 1990. The 2009 Irish Grand National was won by English raider, Niche Market, ridden by Harry Skelton and trained by Bob Buckler. The eight year old won at odds of 33/1 and finished a couple of lengths ahead of Church Island (50/1).The Irish Grand National is run over 3 miles 5 furlongs with 23 fences to be jumped.It is a handicap race for horses of five years or older and is Ireland’s most prestigious steeplechase race.Steeplechasing was born in Ireland and England in the 1700s, and had gained an especially fixed following in Ireland by the mid 1800s. The word ‘steeplechase’ was first used officially in 1807 in the Irish Racing Calender. Steeplechasing has originated from cross country races known as pounding races, where the riders chose their own routes, with the first steeplechase being the result of a wager in 1752 between Cornelius O’Callaghan and Edmund Blake, who raced four miles (6 km) cross-country from Buttevant Church to St. Leger Church in Doneraile, in Cork, Ireland. Records of this race are to be found at Dromoland Castle in County Clare. The winner in a steeplechase race was the one who outlasted the other riders, and the orientation of the course was by reference to a church steeple ? the riders often went from churchsteeple to churchsteeple ? agreeing on an end point made for more organised racing, with less falls and injuries but to endure this kind of race the horses had to be able to cope with uneven and sometimes dangerous ground and jumps. Of course these ‘everlasting’ races couldn’t go on forever, so a course was set up in Bedford, England in 1810, which was 3 miles with 8 fences.By the mid 1890s courses were laid out at many sites, especially in Ireland, with the Irish Grand National, the most popular race by far, being set up in 1870 at Fairyhouse.Regulation of the steeplechasing sport began in the 1860s with the Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee in Ireland and the Grand National Hunt Committee in England. The Grand National Hunt Committee changed name to the National Hunt Committee in 1889.The 2010 Powers Whiskey Irish Grand National next year will mark 140 years of Irish Grand National history. For more information on the Irish Grand National go to www.irishgrandnational.co.uk. Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for February, 2009
John McCririck Grand National Tipster
John McCririck, born April 17, 1940 in Surrey, is almost as famous for his for his hats and flamboyant attire as he is for being a television horse racing pundit. He is an eccentric character who lives in London with his long-suffering wife of 37 years, Jennie, whom he calls ‘The Booby’ – a ‘silly South American bird which ‘flaps and squawks’, and as a professed chauvinist, refers to her as his Minister for Finance, Motoring and Catering. John was educated (three O levels) at Harrow where he operated as an amateur bookmaker before moving on to working as a shop assistant at Boots, a commis chef and waiter at the Dorchester Hotel, a failed course bookie, a Sporting Life journalist and a sub-editor on BBC Grandstand before finally making it as a larger-than-life television personality with ITV. McCririck is often seen at the racecourse wearing a deerstalker and a cape, is extremely outspoken, possesses an audacious, urgent bellow and for some reason people tend to either love him or loathe him ? the television critic Nina Myskow once stated that he has as much charm as an armpit! Having said all that, what mattered about McCririck was that he brought a new understanding of the psyche and needs of regular punters ‘fellow sufferers’ as he calls them, to the television.McCririck has been Channel 4′s betting guru since 1983, and his fans have given him the name of ‘Big Mac’. Even though Channel 4 do not cover the Grand National, McCririck has definitely had influence on market moves in the National. A prime example is 1994 when McCririck was particularly bullish about the chances of the favourite Master Oats. For weeks leading up to the race, McCririck extolled the merits of this challenger and by the morning of the National, Master Oats, who had been at odds of 40-1 when the weights were announced, had become a joint 8-1 favourite. McCririck never claims to be smart tipster but he himself has had big wins. He backed Zafonic to win the 1993 2,000 Guineas and in 1995 supported Pennekamp to beat Celtic Swing in the 2,000 Guineas.In 1990, at Doncaster, McCririck was warning viewers that ‘something smells’ when a horse called Bravefoot who was initially installed as favourite and attracting huge bets, suddenly began to drift in the market. Afterwards when Bravefoot had flopped, it was found out that the horse had been ‘stopped’ by doping!! So McCririck is definitely a man to be listened to when it comes to horse racing! However, he does get it wrong on occasion ? asserting that a horse ‘can’t win’ because there is no money in it or dismissing the chances of an outsider – only to see it happening before his eyes! But the sincere remorse he exhibits is what the punters love about him ? they know that no-one can get it right all the time, but he does his very best, and this is part of the reason why Channel 4s racing viewers hail him as ‘The Punter’s Champion’.For some his boorish ways are a huge turn-off, but for the majority of punters who tune in to watch his report from the front-line, he is one of them ? having spent many years as a follower of horse racing, he knows their pain. He denounces himself as ‘the pub bore with a microphone’ but for many John McCririck is an example of a key part of our social history, a man who has lived through the days of street-corner bookies to our present day situation where gambling is part of the national psyche. Read the rest of this entry »
Grande Finale of the Football Season
The European football season is coming to an end, with the 3 largest European leagues that already have been decided.Inter Milan won its 4th Seria A title in a row and 17 in total. Without much effort on Inter’s side, the season was decided when its chief rival AC Milan lost to Udinese, and with it lost the last chance to catch up. The bad news is that one of the top class players in the last few years, Luis Figo, announced that he will retire in the end of the season. Read the rest of this entry »