About

Irish Grand National is a 5,834 metres handicap race held annually on Easter Monday. The race is restricted to five years old and above horses. The contest is held at Fairyhouse in County Meath, Ireland. During the National Hunt steeplechase, the horses jump twenty-four fences. With a prize fund of €500,000,it is the most prestigious Irish national hunt racing.

History

Irish Grand National was started 1870 with a horse named Sir Robert Reel emerging as the winner. The award then was 167 sovereigns. Given that anyone can enter his or her horse in the competition, most also refer to
it as ‘The Race of the People.’

Records

Brown Lad is the only horse that has won the competition three times. The horse won in 1975 and 1976 under a jockey called Tommy Carberry. Gerry Dowd rode the horse during its third victory in 1978. Jim Dreaper was the trainer during the three wins.

Pat Taaffe holds the record for the jockey with the most wins. He has won six races with different horses. His first win was in 1954 with Royal Approach while Flyingbolt gave him the last win in 1966.

The most successful trainer at the contest is Tom Dreaper with 10 wins. He recorded his first win in 1942 with Prince Regent. The Irish trainer’s last win was in 1966 with Flyingbolt.

Overshadow was the oldest horse to win the race at 13. A jockey named A. Power rode the 1953 champion. Seven horses have won the race at the youngest age of six. They are Dominick’s Bar (1950), Royal Approach (1954),
Olympia (1960), Vulpine (1967), Herring Gull (1968), Groupe (1970), and Rhyme n’ Reason (1985).

Previous Winners

General Principle won the top prize on April 2, 2018. James Slevin was his jockey. It was the first win for trainer Gordon Elliot.

Robbie Power powered a horse named Our Duke to victory in 2017. Ger Fox had won the previous year’s race riding Rogue Angel. Ms. Katie Walsh rode Thunder and Roses to victory in 2015.

About

Champion Stakes is British horse race restricted to three-years-old and above thoroughbreds. The 2,012-metres race is held every October at Ascot Racecourse, England. With a reward of £1.3m, the Group 1 flat horse race is the most valuable in its category in Europe.

History

The first Champion Stakes race was run at Newmarket in 1877. The first jockey to win the competition was Tom
Cannon, Sr. riding Springfield. The race was elevated to Group 1 in 1972.

In the 2010 and 2011 series, the race joined the Breeders’ Cup Challenge thereby giving its winner an automatic
ticket to Breeders’ Cup Turf. The race is sponsored by QIPCO. In 2011, it was moved from Newmarket to Ascot racecourse.

Records

Danny Maher and Charlie Elliott are the most successful jockeys, with six wins each. Maher’s last win came in 1910
riding Lemberg while Elliot recorded his last one 1952 with Dynamiter.

Trister is the only horse that has won three times. In 1882, it won with Fred Archer. Frederic Webb rode this
horse to victory in 1883 and 1884.

Alec Taylor, Jr. has recorded eight wins making him the most successful trainer. His last victory came in 1925.
However, since 1972, Patrick Biancone is the only trainer who has won three times. He triumphed with Palace Music (1984) and Triptych in 1986 and 1987.

Previous Winners

On October 21, 2017, Frank Dettori, riding Cracksman won that year’s Champion Stakes at Ascot. Jockeys Andrea Atzeni and R. Moore finished second and third respectively riding Poet’s World and Highland Reel.

Tom Queally has been one of the most successful jockeys at Champions Stakes. In 2009 and 2010, he won riding on Twice Over. In 2012, he won with Frankel. In 2016, Christopher Soumillon took the top spot riding Almanzor. This was the second win by the Belgian jockey at the event, having recorded similar results in 2011 riding Cirrus des Aigles.

History

The race was inaugurated on 28 April 1814, five years after the 2,000 Guineas was first held. The 2,000 Guinea Stakes is for both colts and fillies. Like it’s predecessor, it was established by the Jockey Club under the command of Sir Charles Bunbury, who cofounded the Derby. Similarly, it was named according to its original prize fund. A guinea was worth 21 shillings or £1.05 at that point in time. Of course, the Guinea reference is now defunct and is rarely mentioned in the mainstream.

The 1,000 Guinea Stakes had blossomed into one of the most prestigious races for horses aged 3 in Britain by the mid-1860S.

Course

It takes place at Newmarket over the same Rowley Mile, the Sunday after the 2,000 Guinea Stakes has been held.

Past winners

66-1 outsider Billesdon Brook caused a massive upset when he stormed to victory at the 1,000 Guineas Stakes at Newmarket on
Sunday 6th May 2018. He became the highest priced victor in the race’s history, dating back to 1814. . The highest winning jockey of all time is George Fordham, who won in more than seven occasions: Mayonnaise in 1859, Nemesis in 1861, Siberia in 1865, Formosa in 1868, Scottish Queen in 1869, Thebais in 1881 and Hauteur in 1883.

Charlotte won the first running in 1814, and from there Robert Robson successfully trained nine winners. These were Corinne in 1818, Catgut in 1819, Rowena in 1820, Zeal in 1821, Whizgig in1822, Zinc in 1823, Tontine in 1825, Problem in 1826, and Arab in 1827.

The 4th Duke of Grafton owned the last eight of those successes, and is hailed as the most successful owner in the history
of the 1,000 Guineas Stakes. This feat has never been achieved after the Duke’s name was inked in the racing books.

Prize money

In 2017, the purse for the 1,000 Guineas was £500,000 and the winner pocketed £283,550, with the rest of the
money going to the runners up in the event.

 

Welsh Grand National is a National Hunt race in Britain. The Grade 3 race takes place at Chepstow racecourse located in Wales, and covers a total distance of 5,934 meters. During the race, horses jump over twenty-two hurdles, thus making it more challenging and interesting. It is scheduled for the 27th of December each year, and is only meant for horses aged four years and above. It was inaugurated way back in 1895, making it one of the oldest races in England. Welsh Grand National is a handicap race run on a left-handed track and is sponsored by Coral.

The race was first run at Ely racecourse in 1895. It was until later in 1939 when it was moved to Caerleon, following the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1949, Welsh Grand National was moved to its present venue at Chepstow racecourse. The race used to take place every Tuesday after the Easter Monday before being re-scheduled to December later in 1979. This was mainly because of bad weather, which put off many racegoers, decreasing the
turnout number of the race. The first winner was Fighting line, being ridden by Dick Francis, a well-known jockey of
that era. David Nicholson won three consecutive times in 1959, 1960 and 1961.Bindaree and Silver Birch won both the Welsh Grand National and Ainree Grand National in the recent years. Synchronized, who won the race in 2010, also emerged the winner of Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2012.

Today, the race is known to attract huge crowds of racegoers being held just a day after the Boxing Day. This year, the race will be far much more competitive than usual. Mystree, a 10 year old racehorse trained by Michael Scudamore will be participating. It will be taking place as from 2:05 pm. In 2017, the winner of Welsh Grand National walked away with a total of 150,000 Euros.