1838 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase

1838 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase
Grand Liverpool Steeplechase
Location	Aintree
Date	5 March 1838
Winning horse	Sir William
SP	2/1
Jockey	Alan McDonough
← 1837 1839 →

The 1838 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase was the last of three unofficial annual precursors of a Handicap Steeple-chase, later to become known as the Grand National Steeplechase Horse race which took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool on Monday 5 March 1838 and attracted a field of only three runners. This race did not carry the prestige of the future Grand Nationals and its status as an official Grand National was revoked some time between 1862-1873.

Competitors and betting

Three competitors faced the starter and were quoted as follows.

1/2 Favourite, The Duke the winner of the 1836 & 1837 runnings, ridden by his partner from the first of those victories, Captain Martin Becher
2/1 Sir William, a debut ride for Alan McDonough
3/1 Scamp, also a debut ride for Mr Clarendon

The race

The race was relatively incident free. Scamp refused when leading on the first circuit and The Duke looked set to record a third consecutive victory, entering the race course proper with a good lead over Sir William. The dual winner tired rapidly and was first passed by Sir William and then also by Scamp to finish last of the three with Sir William winning by a distance of forty yards in a time of fifteen minutes, a minute slower than the previous year.

Aftermath

For many years after this event the race was regarded as the third running of the Grand National by racegoers and pressmen alike, however this stance began to change during the 1860s when national newspapers began listing the former winners of the National back only as far as 1839. When the official honours board at Aintree was erected in 1894 it stated that the race of 1838 was run at a nearby course in Maghull and that the winner was a horse named Sir Henry, ridden by Mr Olliver against nine rivals.

Racing returns from this period show that racing at Maghull ceased in 1835 and that there was no horse in training in 1838 named Sir Henry. The only jockey named Olliver in racing at the time was Tom Olliver and on the date of the race he was riding at St Albans.

For over a century the detail recorded on the honours board was accepted as fact until evidence was presented to show the real events of the 1838 Great Liverpool chase. While it is now accepted among the majority of racing writers that the 1838 race was indeed run at Aintree and not Maghull it is still the official view that the lack of prestige in the race prior to 1839 warrants its continued omission from being declared an official Grand National.

Finishing order

Position	Name	Rider	Age	Weight	Starting Price	Distance or Fate
Winner	Sir William	Alan McDonough		12-07	2/1
Second	Scamp	Mr Clarendon	5	10-12	3/1
Third	The Duke	Captain Martin Becher	9	12-07	1/2

Sources

http://www.grandnational.hyak.co.uk/past/grand_national_past_1838.html

Grand National

Races by year	1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Course	Aintree Racecourse Becher's Brook Canal Turn The Chair

Famous horses	Aldaniti Battleship Corbiere Crisp Devon Loch The Duke E.S.B. Foinavon Golden Miller L'Escargot Lord Gyllene Lottery Peter Simple Red Rum West Tip

Famous jockeys	Jack Anthony Martin Becher Tommy Carberry Bob Champion Richard Dunwoody Brian Fletcher Dick Francis Josh Gifford Bruce Hobbs Count Karl Kinsky Jem Mason Tony McCoy Tom Olliver Ernest Piggott Richard Pitman Ruby Walsh Fred Winter

Other people	Peter Bromley Ginger McCain Vincent O'Brien Michael O'Hehir Peter O'Sullevan Jenny Pitman Fred Rimell Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Lord Oaksey Lord Sefton

Lists	List of Grand National winners List of Grand National first four placings List of equine fatalities in the Grand National

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