1997 Grand National – Full Finishing Results
Date: 7 April 1997
Course: Aintree Racecourse
Going: Good
Distance: 4 miles 4 furlongs 856 yards
Runners: 36
Finishers: 17
Winning Time: 9 minutes 5.9 seconds
| Position | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Age | Weight | SP | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Lord Gyllene (NZ) | Tony Dobbin | Steve Brookshaw | Sir Stanley Clarke | 9 | 10-00 | 14/1 | Won by 25 lengths |
| 2nd | Sunny Bay | Graham Bradley | Charlie Brooks | Toby Balding | 9 | 10-06 | 8/1 | 25 lengths behind |
| 3rd | Camelot Knight | Chris Maude | John Edwards | M. L. James | 11 | 10-00 | 33/1 | 20 lengths behind |
| 4th | St Mellion Fairway | Declan Murphy | Josh Gifford | Mrs. M. Gifford | 9 | 10-03 | 50/1 | 10 lengths behind |
| 5th | Sir Peter Lely | Norman Williamson | Jenny Pitman | Mrs. A. Pitman | 9 | 10-04 | 25/1 | 3 lengths behind |
| 6th | Lo Stregone | Jamie Osborne | Josh Gifford | Mrs. M. Gifford | 12 | 10-00 | 50/1 | 5 lengths behind |
| 7th | Killeshin | Charlie Swan | Arthur Moore | Mrs. J. Cullen | 10 | 10-02 | 33/1 | 3 lengths behind |
| 8th | Superior Finish | Philip Robinson | G. Harwood | A. J. Harwood | 12 | 10-00 | 100/1 | 3 lengths behind |
| 9th | Avro Anson | Norman Williamson | Charlie Brooks | Michael O’Leary | 10 | 10-00 | 25/1 | 4 lengths behind |
| 10th | Monanore | Adrian Maguire | Jimmy Fitzgerald | D. Thompson | 9 | 10-00 | 33/1 | 3 lengths behind |
| 11th | Rushmere | Brendan Sheridan | Pat Hughes | D. L. Smith | 8 | 10-00 | 66/1 | 3 lengths behind |
| 12th | Antonin | Peter Niven | Mary Reveley | H. C. Jones | 12 | 10-01 | 33/1 | 1 length behind |
| 13th | Rince Ri | Barry Fenton | Pat Hughes | P. Daly | 9 | 10-00 | 50/1 | 2 lengths behind |
| 14th | Rough Quest | Mick Fitzgerald | Terry Casey | Andrew Wates | 11 | 11-01 | 10/1 | 1 length behind |
| 15th | Go Ballistic | Richard Johnson | David Nicholson | T. J. Price | 9 | 10-07 | 20/1 | 3 lengths behind |
| 16th | Brackenfield | Peter Scudamore | Nigel Twiston-Davies | The Summit Partnership | 9 | 10-00 | 40/1 | 2 lengths behind |
| 17th | Ebony Jane | Liam Cusack | Peter McCreery | Mrs. Anne Butler | 12 | 10-00 | 50/1 | Last finisher |
Race Summary
- Winner: Lord Gyllene (trained by Steve Brookshaw, ridden by Tony Dobbin)
- Winning Margin: 25 lengths over Sunny Bay
- Favourite: Rough Quest (10/1) – finished 14th
- Prize for 1st Place: £189,180
- Notes: This was the “Monday National,” run two days late after a bomb threat forced evacuation of Aintree on the original Saturday.
The 1997 Grand National was originally scheduled for Saturday, April 5, 1997, but following two coded bomb threats from the Irish Republican Army (IRA), received an hour or so before the proposed ‘off’ time, Aintree Racecourse was evacuated and the race was postponed for 48 hours. Bomb squads subsequently carried out controlled explosions on two suspect packages at the course, although both turned out to be innocuous.
Over 20,000 spectators reconvened for the so-called ‘Monday National’, rescheduled for 5.00pm on Monday, April 7. A total of 36 horses went to post, but it would be fair to say that the winner, Lord Gyllene, barely saw a rival for most of the four and a half miles. Owned by the late Sir Stanley Clarke, trained by Steve Brookshaw, in Telford, Shropshire and ridden by Tony Dobbin, Lord Gyllene led from the second fence and, jumping well, drew clear from two out to win by 25 lengths. He did give his supporters one anxious moment, through no fault of his own, when badly hampered by a loose horse approaching the water jump at the end of the first circuit, but thereafter never really looked like being beaten.
Second favourite Suny Bay, trained by Charlie Brooks and ridden by Jamie Osborne, chased the winner for most of the way, but a blunder at the third-last fence finally put paid to his chance and he was soon left behind. Camelot Knight, a 100/1 outsider, stayed on to finish third, two lengths further behind, with 40/1 chance Buckboard Bounce a similar distance back in fourth place.
Sent off at 14/1, Lord Gyllene completed the Grand National Course in time of nine minutes and 5.9 seconds. Brookshaw, who, at the time, was in just his second year as a National Hunt trainer, later said of his victory, “It was my 15 minutes of fame.The biggest day of my life.”