Praise and Grumble

On Saturday 3 May 1969, on a day when the Beatles were number 1 in the pop charts, a new horse race was inaugurated. 

But so unregarded was the racecourse on which it was run, that ‘The Midlands Grand National’ hardly caused a ripple in the racing press.

And that was a shame, for the winner Happy Spring was coming to the end of a fine career – which had seen him be only one of six horses ever to have beaten the legendary Arkle.

Midlands Grand National turns 40

Decade on and it's a different story as 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of this great local sporting institution. The Midlands Grand National, which is sponsored by the beer company John Smith, is now a major day in the racing calendar, and the most popular occasion at Uttoxeter Racecourse.

The race comes at the end of a week of the Cheltenham Festival, so there is extra attention paid to it. 
Add to that the number of Irish people who finish off their week in Britain by coming on to Uttoxeter to cheer on the many Irish horses that take part - and the town is buzzing on the day!

Local hotels fill up, and thousands of visitors swell the town’s pubs and restaurants.

Looking back – the highlights

1975: Rag Trade, owned by society hairdresser ‘Teasy Weasy’ Raymond, is victorious. A year later the horse won the Grand National.

1977: Watafella – trained by a young Jenny Pitman, finishes third, but is later awarded the race when it is discovered that the first two horses weren’t eligible to take part!

1986: The Thinker wins and, the following season, takes the Cheltenham Gold Cup in the year when it was run in the snow.
1988: Local man, the late Sir Stanley Clarke (the chairman of St Modwen developers), takes over the racecourse and transforms it. He was the founder of the Northern Racing group, which went on to own and run racecourses all over the country.
1990: Another Jenny Pitman-trained victor. (Five years on, Willsford would also win the Scottish National).

1991: The date of the race is switched to March. 
Bonanza Boy, the last horse to win the Welsh National in successive years, romps away by 20 lengths.

1997: Seven Towers beats Lord Gyllene, owned by chairman Stanley Clarke, into second place at Uttoxeter. 
But, three weeks later at Aintree, Lord Gyllene, ridden by Tony Dobbin, is triumphant in a Grand National runaway victory.

2001: Stanley Clarke is knighted.

2002: The Bunny Boiler, named after the character played by actress Glenn Close in the film Fatal Attraction, is the winner and completes the Midlands Grand National’s series of ‘National’ winners by taking the Irish equivalent at Fairyhouse the following month.

2004: The race has to be abandoned even though 15,000 spectators are already inside the racecourse - as fierce winds crash across Staffordshire.
Sir Stan Clarke dies later this year.

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MIDLANDS GRAND NATIONAL FACTS & FIGURES

 The race was first televised in 1971.

 No horse has ever won the race twice.

 The 1979 winner Jimmy Miff ran in the race a total of six times.

 The oldest winner - at 13 years - remains the inaugural hero Happy Spring.

 Philip Hobbs has won the race both as a jockey (1985) and as a trainer (1989 and 1995).

 Female trainers have won the race six times.

 Only six horses took part in 2000.

 Bonanza Boy was both the shortest priced winner (15-8) and the horse that carried the highest weight to victory (11st 10lb).

 Lowest weight carried was 9st 7lb by Grey Sombrero in 1971 – never to be beaten as the minimum is now 10st.

 The race has been cancelled three times – in 1983 (waterlogged), 2001 (foot and mouth disease), and 2004 (high winds).

 The race is now run – and has been on 22 occasions - over an extended four miles and one furlong. Twice it was run over four miles and 13 times over four and a half miles.

See below for photos of previous events at Uttoxeter race course

More information is available on the racecourse’s web site www.uttoxeter-racecourse.co.uk.