Photo by WikiMedia Commons, CC by 2.0
Have you ever seen a grey horse win the Grand National? You might not have paid much attention to the colour of the winning horse, but if you think about it, you’ll realise that very few grey horses have won in this prestigious race.
Three, but Four Grey National Wins
Just three grey horses have ever won the Grand National, pulling off four wins between them. But if history’s anything to go by, it might be a while before another grey crosses the famous Aintree finish line first.
The Lamb was the first grey horse to do it. He won twice way back in 1868 and 1871. To this day, he remains the only grey horse, who won the Grand National multiple times.
Then came Nicolaus Silver, the only grey to win in the 20th century, back in 1961. More recently, Neptune Collonges ended the drought with a memorable victory in 2012.
The Lamb Doubles Up
The Lamb first claimed the great race as a six-year-old – far from an uncommon occurrence in that era – when he was ridden to glory by Mr George Ede for trainer Ben Land. He was 9/1 chance to score on that occasion and three years later he’d repeat the trick at Aintree.
This time he was under the eye of trainer Chris Green – a dual winning rider in the Grand National himself – and was partnered on the day by Mr Tommy Pickernell. He carried 11st 5lb to victory in that second win and was sent off an 11/2 chance in the betting.
Nicolaus Was the Second Silver Success
A remarkable 90 years would slide by before another grey prevailed in the Aintree showpiece and then it was the appropriately named Nicolaus Silver that scored for trainer Fred Rimell – a man that became known as ‘Mr Grand National’ when he ended his career with four winners in the race – and ridden by Bobby Beasley.
Again, there was a long wait for the next grey winner before the Paul Nicholls-trained Neptune Collonges earned the distinction of becoming only the third grey horse to win in the 173-years of the Aintree Grand National in 2012.
Neptune a Big-Price National Hero
Starting as a 33/1 outsider, Neptune Collonges and jockey Daryl Jacob held their nerve to beat Sunnyhillboy by the slimmest of margins—a nose—in a thrilling photo finish, setting the record for the closest Grand National victory ever.
That win also gave Nicholls – champion jumps trainer in Britain on 10 occasions to date in his career – his first and, thus far, only win in the Aintree Grand National.
Greys are always popular in the National at Aintree and there have been plenty of near misses in recent times, with Suny Bay (1997 and 1998), What’s Up Boys (2002) and King John’s Castle (2008) all finishing second in the Aintree marathon.
Who will become the fourth grey to land jumps racing’s most recognisable race?
