The 1982 Grand National, run on good going on April 3, 1982, featured 39 runners, of which just eight completed the course. One who didn’t was Aldaniti, who was sent off at 12/1 to follow up his fairytale-like victory in 1981, but was one of no fewer than 10 horses who fell, or were brought down, at the very first fence. All told, there were 22 casualties on the first circuit and, when Good Prospect refused at the seventeenth fence, just 16 horses headed out into the country second time around.
In a decimated field, victory went to the 7/1 favourite, Grittar, trained by Frank Gilman and ridden by amateur Dick Saunders, who, at the age of 48, became the oldest jockey to win the Grand National. Take nothing away from the winner, though. As noted by BBC commentator Sir Peter O’Sullevan, “Grittar strides into the final furlong and is already being acclaimed as the National Hero of 1982.” The nine-year-old strode over the finishing line 15 lengths ahead of his nearest pursuer, Hard Outlook, with his ears pricked, and a further distance back to the third horse home, Loving Words. Indeed, his winning time of 9 minutes and 12.6 seconds was, at the time, the second fastest in Grand National history, albeit over 10 seconds slower than the course record, 9 minutes and 1.9 seconds, set by Red Rum back in 1973.
The 1982 Grand National was also notable for the achievement of Geraldine Rees, who, in finishing a distant last of eight on 66/1 chance Cheers, became the first female jockey to complete the course in the Grand National. A capable amateur rider, she said later, “It was absolutely thrilling. It was the most wonderful feeling to finish. I was pretty exhausted, but it was a fantastic day.”