Category: Horse Racing Guide

Did Lester Piggott ever win the Grand National?

Lester Piggott is arguably the greatest Flat jockey of all time. Between 1948 and 1995, he rode 4,493 winners on the Flat, including 30 British Classic winners, and became Champion Jockey 11 times. Piggott never rode over fences, so he could never have won the Grand National but, early in his career, he did ride successfully over hurdles.

In fact, Piggott rode his first winner over obstacles, Eldoret, at Wincanton on Boxing Day, 1953. The following spring – still three months before his first Derby winner, Never Say Die – he won the Birdlip Hurdle, the opening race at what became the Cheltenham Festival, on Mull Sack and the Triumph Hurdle, in those days run at the now-defunct Hurst Park, on Prince Charlemagne, within the space of a few days. All in all, between 1953 and 1959, Lester Piggott rode 20 winners over hurdles, mainly for his father, Keith.

Lester Piggott may never have won the Grand National, but his grandfather, Ernie, rode three Grand National winners – Jerry M in 1912 and Poethlyn in 1918 and 1919 – and his father saddled the 1963 Grand National winner, Ayala; perhaps the headline question is not quite so absurd, after all? Additionally, although Piggott never won the Grand National, he did ride a National winner. (Red Rum, twice, on the flat).

Which horse won the 1993 ‘Grand National that never was’?

The ‘Grand National that never was’ took place in 1993 and was so-called because, although seven horses completed the course, the result was subsequently declared void and the race was never re-run. Oblivious to a second false start, the majority of the 39-strong field set off on the first circuit of the National Course and, despite frantic efforts by all and sundry to stop the race, it was not until the sixteenth fence, the Water Jump, that many of the jockeys became aware that they had been recalled by the starter and pulled up.

Even so, fourteen horses headed out ‘into the country’ for a second time. They were eventually led home by Esha Ness, owned by Patrick Bancroft, trained by Jenny Pitman and ridden by John White, who was first past the post at odds of 50/1. Ironically, had the result been allowed to stand, Esha Ness would have recorded the second-fastest time in the history of the National. However, following what the late Sir Peter O’Sullevan called, ‘the greatest disaster in the history of the Grand National’, the race was nullified by the stewards and bookmakers were forced to refund tens of millions of pounds.

What is Timeform?

Timeform, which was founded by the late Phil Bull in 1948, but is now part of the Paddy Power Betfair Group, is a highly-respected sports data provider. Timeform, as a company, is well-known for its various publications, including its ‘Racehorses’ and ‘Chasers & Hurdlers’ annuals, ‘Black Books’ and daily racecards, but is probably most famous for its private handicapping, or performance rating, system, also known as ‘Timeform’.

Timeform ratings, which have been available on the Flat since the late Forties and over Jumps since the early Sixties, express, in Imperial pounds, the calibre of each horse, so that the runners in any given race can easily be compared. In fact, such is the credibility of Timeform ratings that they are considered, by many industry professionals, to be the definitive, if unofficial, measure of thoroughbred performance in Britain and beyond.

Which is the longest horse race run in Britain?

The longest ‘official’ horse race – or, in other words, the longest horse race run under the Rules of Racing, as defined by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), on a pay-at-the-gate enclosed racecourse – remains the Grand National. Historically, the advertised distance of the Grand National was four-and-a-half miles. However, in 2013, for safety reasons, the start position was moved forward 90 yards or so, away from the grandstands, thereby reducing distance between the start and the first fence and, consequently, the overall race distance.

For the next few years, the advertised distance of the Grand National was four miles and about three-and-a-half-furlongs but, in 2016, was reduced again, to four miles and about two-and-a-half furlongs. The latter reduction came not because of any change to the National Course, but because of a change in the methodology used by the BHA to measure race distances on National Hunt racecourses. Nevertheless, while nowadays run over an accurately-measured 4 miles, 2 furlongs and 74 yards, the Grand National is still, far and away, the longest race in the British racing calendar.

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