From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 1991 Grand National
1991 Grand National
1991 Grand National rienced rider in the race, both taking their eleventh Na-
tional mounts. The favourite was never in contention, be-
Grand National ing well to the rear on the first circuit and always just out
of reach of the leaders on the second. He picked his way
Location Aintree Racecourse through tired horses to earn fifth place. Bonanza Boy re-
Date 6 April 1991 turned for a fourth attempt at the National in 1992 but
his best days were behind him and he failed to complete
Winning horse Seagram the course for the first time. He also lined up for a fifth
SP 12/1 and final time in the void race of 1993 and retired from
racing in 1994 spending his days opening fetes and local
Jockey Nigel Hawke
events before passing away in 2011 at the age of 30. [5]
Trainer David H Barons Garrison Savannah came to Aintree bidding to be on-
ly the second horse ever, and the first for over half a
Owner Sir Eric Parker
century to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Grand Na-
Conditions Good to soft[1] tional in the same year. In partnership of Mark Pitman,
son of trainer Jenny Pitman, the pair were well placed
throughout and turned for home disputing the lead. At
External videos the penultimate fence the Cheltenham champion kicked
on and built a lead of three lengths going to the final
Replay of the 1991 Grand National in full[2] Youtube flight, which looked decisive when his lead increased af-
ter the fence but just as he approached the elbow the
The 1991 Grand National (known as the Seagram Grand horse’s stride shortened dramatically and he began virtu-
National for sponsorship reasons) was the 145th renewal ally running on the spot to be caught in the final strides
of the Grand National horse race that took place at Ain- by the eventual winner. In defeat Garrison Savannah has
tree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 6 April 1991. often been cited in articles and television recollections of
It was the last Grand National to be sponsored by Sea- gallant National losers and in another ironic twist, his de-
gram, a Canadian distillery corporation that had begun feat is often likened to that of Crisp in 1973 when caught
sponsoring the world-famous steeplechase in 1984. Apt- on the run in in similar circumstances when being rid-
ly, the race was won by a horse named Seagram, in a time den by Pitman’s father Richard. Pitman senior also had
of nine minutes and 29.9 seconds.[3][1] to recall his sons fate as a BBC reporter taking viewers
Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Garrison Savannah through a rerun of the race. Garrison Savannah returned
looked likely to go on and win when he jumped the 30th for three further attempts at the National, including the
and final fence, four lengths clear of his nearest chal- void race of 1993 but failed to repeat his performance
lenger, 11-year-old Seagram. But Seagram made up the of his first attempt. He however remains one of just two
ground on the long run-in to secure victory.[3] There was horses since the war to have won and finished second in
one equine fatality in the race when Ballyhane collapsed chasings two major events in the same season. After a
and died after finishing.[4] happy retirement, he passed away in 2005 at the age of
twenty-two.
Leading Contenders Rinus shared co second favourite spot with Garrison
Savannah at 7/1, largely on the back of an impressive
Bonanza Boy was sent off as favourite despite having fin- performance when finishing third in the previous year’s
ished well beaten in his two previous attempts at the race. In company of Neale Doughty, himself a winning
race. Under Peter Scudamore the horse had previously rider in 1984 he was going very well, moving up to dis-
won the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow in 1988 and pute the lead when he crashed through the twentieth
’89 but had pulled up in the most recent renewal when fence and fell, being met with a huge gasp from the
partnered by Hywel Davies. When reunited with Scud- crowd in the stands. it proved to be the only time in ten
amore, Bonanza Boy bounced back by winning the attempts that Doughty had failed to complete the course.
Ansell’s National Handicap Chase at Uttoxeter three [6]
weeks before the National. Scudamore took the ride at Bigsun was another who had performed well in the
Aintree and was, jointly with Chris Grant, the most expe- National the previous year to finish sixth and with for-
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 1991 Grand National
Position Name Jockey Age Weight SP Distance
1st Seagram (NZL) Nigel Hawke 11 10-06 12/1 Winner by 5 lengths
2nd Garrison Savannah Mark Pitman 8 11-01 7/1 8 lengths
3rd Auntie Dot Mark Dwyer 10 10-04 50/1 25 lengths
4th Over the Road Robbie Supple 10 10-07 50/1 Short head
5th Bonanza Boy Peter Scudamore 10 11-07 13/2 F 1½ lengths
6th Durham Edition Chris Grant 13 10-13 25/1 4 lengths
7th Golden Minstrel Tom Grantham 12 10-02 50/1 6 lengths
8th Old Applejack T Reed 11 10-01 66/1 2 lengths
9th Leagaune M Richards 9 10-00 200/1 4 lengths
10th Foyle Fisherman Eddie Murphy 12 10-00 40/1 12 lengths
11th Ballyhane D Murphy 10 10-03 22/1 1½ lengths
12th Harley I G Lyons 11 10-00 150/1 30 lengths
13th Mick’s Star Charlie Swan 11 10-00 100/1 5 lengths
14th Ten of Spades John White 11 11-01 15/1
15th Forest Ranger D Tegg 9 10-00 100/1
16th Yahoo Norman Williamson 10 11-01 33/1
17th Golden Freeze Michael Bowlby 9 11-00 40/1
mer winning rider Richard Dunwoody in the saddle, was Becher chase, failing to complete the course on either oc-
well backed to improve on that at 9/1. They were in casion. A horse once described as easily bored was retired
touch with the leaders and looking like they may be to the hunting field [7]
about to mount a serious challenge when a very bad mis-
take at Becher’s Brook second time saw the horse come
right down on his belly. Dunwoody somehow managed to
Finishing order
stay on board but they had been brought to a complete [1]
standstill and any hope of victory was gone. They jumped
another fence before Dunwoody pulled up with Bigsun
having possibly pulled a muscle in the Becher’s mistake.
Non-finishers
Seagram was naturally popular among coincidence [1]
backers who noted the horse carried the name of the
sponsors though his price of 12/1 had more to do with References
his recent victory in the Ritz Club Chase at Cheltenham.
His detractors pointed to the horse being the smallest in [1] ^ [1]
the field as well as being partnered with the relatively [2] http://www.youtube.com/
inexperienced Nigel Hawke, one of fourteen riders mak- watch?v=HdCeBbsppeE&feature=related
ing the National debut. Seagram was kept in mid division [3] ^ [2]
during the first circuit before moving into contention [4] http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/
early on the second. Seagram was one of five disputing aberdeen/seagram-is-the-national-hero-with-a-
the lead after jumping the Canal turn but looked to have flying-finish-1.528318
been beaten into second at the final flight before finding [5] http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse-racing/
a second wind to streak past the tired Garrison Savannah m-c-pipe-top-chaser-bonanza-boy-dies-aged-30/
in the final strides to win by five lengths. His rider Nigel 839929/ Racing Post: 11th April 2011: Top Chaser
Hawke admitted to being overawed by the attention vic- Bonanza Boy dies aged 30
tory brought and later claimed that he had settled for [6] http://www.grand-national.me.uk/fences/ Grand
second place when jumping the final fence. Like many National fence guide
National winners, Seagram failed to achieve anything of [7] http://www.grand-national.me.uk/2056/seagram/
note after his victory. He returned to tackle the Aintree http://www.grand-national-world.co.uk/gnw/the_race/
fences twice more, once in the National and once in the past_winners_index.html
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 1991 Grand National
Fence Name Jockey Age Weight SP Fate
1st Docklands Express Anthony Tory 9 10-03 20/1 Fell
2nd Run and Skip D Byrne 13 10-00 66/1 Fell
5th Envopak Token Mark Perrett 10 10-00 28/1 Pulled up
7th (Foinavon’s) Southernair I Mr. J Simo 11 10-01 100/1 Unseated rider
11th Joint Sovereignty L O’Hara 11 10-00 100/1 Fell
15th (The Chair) Crammer John Durkan 11 10-02 28/1 Fell
17th Abba Lad D Gallagher 9 10-00 250/1 Pulled up
18th Fraze (CZE) Vaclav Chaloupka 8 11-10 100/1 Pulled up
19th Master Bob Jamie Osborne 11 10-05 20/1 Pulled up
19th Team Challenge Ben De Haan 9 10-00 50/1 Refused
20th Rinus Neale Doughty 10 10-07 7/1 Fell
20th The Langholm Dyer Graham McCourt 12 10-06 100/1 Unseated rider
21st Mister Christian (NZL) Simon Earle 10 10-00 100/1 Pulled up
21st Bumbles Folly (NZL) Jimmy Frost 10 10-05 150/1 Pulled up
21st Solidasarock Graham Bradley 9 10-04 50/1 Pulled up
22nd (Becher’s Brook) Mr. Frisk Mr. M Armytage 12 11-06 25/1 Pulled up
22nd (Becher’s Brook) Hotplate P Niven 9 10-02 80/1 Pulled up
22nd (Becher’s Brook) Blue Dart H Davis 11 10-02 80/1 Unseated rider
23rd (Foinavon’s) New Halen S J O’Neill 10 10-00 50/1 Unseated rider
24th (Canal Turn) Oklaoma (FRA) R Kleparski 11 10-07 66/1 Pulled up
24th (Canal Turn) Bigsun R Dunwoody 10 10-04 9/1 Pulled up
25th (Valentine’s) Huntworth Mr. P Walter 11 10-08 50/1 Pulled up
26th General Chandos Mr. J Bradburne 10 10-03 150/1 Pulled up
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Categories:
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