Apr

4

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AINTREE GRAND NATIONAL WEEKEND

It's the biggest race in the world and on Saturday Britian will come to a standstill when 41 runners and riders go to post at Aintree to fight it out for the coveted prize.

It's estimated that on average every British citizen spends £2 on the National with most punters entering bookies for their one and only time during the year.

Sweepstakes will be held today in offices and other work sites across the country with most hoping to pull the name of HedgeHunter (pictured left) out of the hat.

The Irish trained horse won the National three years ago and now nearing the end of his career many will wonder if he's to go out on a high.

At 25/1 he's an attractive price though the favourite for this year's race is Cloudy Lane and when you look at the pedigree you can see why.

With outstanding recent form, this horse is well ahead of the handicapper and has exceptional claims. Donald McCain is the trainer and it was his father who saddled the great Red Rum. The only negative is that he is unraced at Aintree.

You can get Cloudy Lane at 5/1 but most punters will be much more adventurous hoping to land a placed finisher at outlandishly long odds. To be fair it's the only race where such an outcome is possible.getminted logo.gif

We here at Getminted like a risky flutter and so we are going to back the David Pipe trio of Milan Deux Mille at 100/1, Vodka Bleu at 40/1 and Joaaci at 66/1! All each way of course. We may like a gamble but we're not stupid! 

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The Grand National has more tales to it than most other sporting events. Here are just a few interesting did you know.............

* Only two greys have won the Grand National - The Lamb (1868 and 1871) and Nicolaus Silver (1961). The grey Suny Bay was second to Lord Gyllene in 1997 and again behind Earth Summit the next year.

* The 1993 National goes down in history as the "race that never was". As the runners pressed forward to get a good position there was a false start but due to a breakdown in communication between the starter, Keith Brown, and the recall assistant further down the track, no clear signal was given. Some jockeys carried on regardless, while others stopped, milling about at the start. Those who raced continued to the end in the belief they were doing the right thing, but the race was declared void. It was heartbreak for Jenny Pitman, whose horse Esha Ness was first past the post.

RedRum.jpg* In 1977, at the age of 12, the legendary Red Rum (pictured left) came back for his historic third victory - a feat unparalleled in racing history. In 1978 he was the pre-race favourite but had to pull out on the day due to injury. Appropriately, "Rummy" is now buried by the winning post at Aintree.

* The greatest number of horses ever to finish was 23 in 1984. Hallo Dandy, ridden by Neale Doughty, was the winner, beating Greasepaint who finished runner-up for the second year running, with Jenny Pitman's Corbiere, winner the previous year, back in third.

* Legendary Irish flat and jumps trainer Vincent O'Brien trained three consecutive winners in Early Mist (1953), Royal Tan (1954) and Quare Times (1955).

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This page contains a single entry by Graham Clifford published on April 4, 2008 12:58 PM .

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