November 2025

Grand National 1988 Results

Admin November 26, 2025 No Comments

The 1988 Grand National, run on good to soft going on April 9, 1988, was an eventful affair, in which just nine of the maximum 40 starters completed the course. The favourite, Sacred Path, trained by Oliver Sherwood and ridden by Clive Cox, fell at the very first fence and the eventual winner, Rhyme ‘N’ Reason, the joint-second favourite, was down on his haunches after a monumental blunder at Becher’s Brook on the first circuit, forcing jockey Brendan Powell Snr. To make a remarkable recovery.

Granted time to recover, Rhyme ‘N’ Reason made steady headway from the rear of the field late on the second circuit and, when Little Polveir blundered and unseated rider at the fifth-last fence, was left in the lead. At the second-last, he was headed by strong-travelling Durham Edition, but rallied approaching the Elbow, halfway up the run-in, lead again inside the final hundred yards and galloped on resolutely to win by four lengths. Durham Edition finished clear second, 15 lengths ahead of Monanore, who could only stay on at one pace in the closing stages, in third, and a further eight lengths ahead of West Tip, in fourth place.

Fortunate he may have been, but few would argue that Rhyme ‘N’ Reason was a worthy winner of the Grand National. He had won the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse in 1986 as a six-year-old and, notwithstanding a fall in the Cheltenham Gold Cup three weeks previously, had won four of his last six completed starts over fences, including the Racing Post Chase (now the Coral Trophy) at Kempton Park in January. Reflecting on the way the race panned out, Powell said, “The thing about Rhyme ‘N’ Reason was you didn’t want to be in front on him for too long. I was getting a lovely lead into the race from Little Polveir and then he came down so I was left in front way too soon.”

Grand National 1981 Results

Admin November 26, 2025 No Comments

The 1981 Grand National, run on good going on April 4, 1981, produced a fairytale finish that was immortalised in the 1982 book, ‘Champion’s Story: A Great Human Triumph’, co-written by winning jockey Bob Champion, and the subject film adaptation, ‘Champions’, starring John Hurt as Champion. Champion was stable jockey to Josh Gifford at Findon, Sussex, but was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1979, leading to surgery, chemotherapy and hospitalisation. However, he recovered sufficiently to take the ride on Aldaniti, trained by Gifford, in the Grand National and the rest, as they say, is history.

Aldaniti, for his part, was a talented, but fragile, steeplechaser, who had previously finished third in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and second in the Scottish Grand National, but had broken down more than once in a career plagued by injury. Nevertheless, as an 11-year-old, he and Champion reunited to win the Whitbread Trial Chase at Ascot in February 1981 and, consequently, he was sent off 10/1 second-favourite for the Grand National, behind only 8/1 favourite Spartan Missile.

Indeed, it would be the market leaders who went on to dominate the finish, although the race did not go entirely to plan for Champion and Aldaniti. Champion had been instructed to hold Aldaniti up until the final fence but, after a dream run around the Canal Turn, the pair were already among the leaders and, two fences later, Aldaniti leapt into the lead. Thereafter, he made most of the running and passed the post four lengths ahead of his nearest pursuer, Spartan Missile.

The latter, ridden by 54-year-old amateur John Thorne, finished well, but effectively go going too late and was never quite reaching Aldaniti. A similar comment applies to Royal Mail (not to be confused with the 1937 Grand National winner, of the same name), who finished third, a further two lengths away.