Canal Turn

The Canal Turn is a fence on Aintree Racecourse's National Course and thus is jumped during the Grand National steeplechase which is held annually at the racecourse, located near Liverpool, England. Named for the Leeds & Liverpool Canal which passes alongside the racecourse at this point, it is jumped twice during the race, as the eighth and 24th fences.

The fence is notable for the sharp left turn that the runners have to take as soon as they have negotiated the fence. The turn is almost 90 degrees and it is not uncommon for jockeys to become unbalanced as they change course; unseatings and falls are common. Seven equine fatalities have been recorded at the Canal Turn in Grand Nationals since the race was first run officially in 1839; the most recent death was that of The Last Fling in 2002.

The Canal Turn has been the scene of a number of incidents that have had a major impact upon the outcome of the Grand National. In 1928, the favourite and top-weight Easter Hero refused at the ditch which at the time preceded the fence^[1]^[2] (this was filled in following the race). This refusal took out 20 horses. By the end of the first circuit only six horses remained in the field. By the final fence just two remained. Billy Barton fell at the last, leaving the 100/1 outsider Tipperary Tim to finish alone. Billy Barton was, however, remounted to pick up the second-place prize money.

In the 2001 Grand National the riderless Paddy's Return ran in front of the field as they approached the fence. This caused a number of horses to be stopped in their tracks or brought down. In total nine horses in the field were taken out of the race at the Canal Turn, including Amberleigh House, who went on to win the National in 2004. On the final lap Paddy's Return again ran across the fence, but this time Red Marauder, the eventual winner, and Smarty, who eventually took second, avoided the loose horse.

The 2015 Grand National saw the fence bypassed for the first time on the final lap as vets treated Balthazar King, who was injured in a fall on the first lap.

Number of fallers

This table documents the number of runners which fell in recent Grand Nationals at the Canal Turn, including those who unseated riders or were brought down, but not those who were pulled up or refused at the fence:

Year	Falls	Equine fatalities
2016	1	0
2015†	2	0
2014	3	0
2013	3	0
2012	5	0
2011	1	0
2010	1	0
2009	0	0
2008	2	0
2007	3	0
2006	1	0
2005	0	0
2004	0	0
2003	1	0
2002	1	1
2001	6	0
2000	1	0
1999	0	0
1998	1	0
1997	0	0
1996	2	0
1995	0	0
1994	2	0
1993*	1	0
1992	1	0
1991	0	0
1990	1	1
1989	0	0
1988	2	0

* 1993 race void.
† Fence was only jumped once in 2015.

References

↑ BBC News. "Grand National 2000" (HTML). BBC News Online. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
↑ YouTube. "1928 Grand National" (HTML). YouTube. Retrieved 2008-01-05.

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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