Huge gambles are part of the folklore and romance surrounding the world’s most famous steeplechase.
The first Grand National winner Lottery was made the 5/1 favourite through weight of money due to his earlier success in the Cheltenham Steeplechase.
Another significant successful punt came in 1866, when owner and trainer Edward Studd backed Salamander to win £40,000, splashing out £1,000 at 40/1. He had bought the winner with two other horses cheaply as a ‘job lot’ from John Hartigan of Limerick in Ireland. Salamander had a crooked foreleg and was thought unlikely to withstand the vigours of training but Studd realized that he was out of the ordinary. Studd then engaged amateur rider Alec Goodman, who had previously won the race on Miss Mowbray, to partner his horse. The choice of jockey bemused the crowd, being a veteran of 45 sporting grey side-whiskers!
Ilex was another successful favourite in 1890, winning at 4/1 after prolonged support from his owner George Masterman who considered his horse an absolute certainty off 10st 5lb and was proved right. Ilex’s jockey Arthur Nightingall went on to a second victory in 1894 on the very well backed 5/1 joint favourite Why Not whose success was shrouded in controversy. Cloister, victorious the previous year, was the heavily backed 6/4 favourite for the race, but suffered lameness as he prepared for a follow-up victory. He missed the race amid whisperings of skulduggery – the bookmakers appeared to know in advance that all was not well – and Why Not won with a weight of money behind him.
Cloister had won the 1893 running of the Grand National in record time under the welter burden of 12st 7lb. His huge weight did not deter the Aintree faithful, who supported the nine-year-old down to 9/2 favouritism. He had also been the hot favourite the previous
year when second to Father O’Flynn.
Manifesto won the great race twice – 1897 and 1899 – hitting the bookies hard on both occasions. Owned by Irish solicitor Harry Dyas for the first of those victories – whose gambling exploits apparently made bookmakers quake in their shoes – the great horse was returned the 6/1 favourite in 1897. John Bulteel the purchased Manifesto, who went to post for the 1899 Grand National a well-supported 5/1 second-favourite. Despite considerable public support, favouritism belonged to his halfsister and former stablemate Gentle Ida, whom Harry Dyas
believed had the measure of Manifesto. The mare went off the 4/1 favourite but fell at Valentine’s first time, leaving Manifesto to reward his loyal supporters.
Stockbroker Edward Paget must be considered one of the unluckiest gamblers during the last century, just missing out on a 4,000/1 double in 1932. Paget staked £1 to win £4,000 on the
spring double – the Lincolnshire Handicap and the Grand National. Jerome Fandor won the former event at 40/1, but then amateur Paget, riding Egremont at 33/1, was narrowly beaten by
in the Grand National after a sustained duel with Forbra.
Vincent O’Brien was confident enough approaching the 1953 Grand National to tell Early Mist’s owner to have a good bet. ‘Mincemeat Joe’ Griffin backed his horse to win £100,000. For
good measure, Griffin won the following year’s Grand National, this time with Royal Tan, also trained by O’Brien who remarkably made it three in a row in 1955 with Quare Times.
The prolific gambler Terry Ramsden went for a massive touch on Mr Snugfit in 1986, putting on £50,000 each-way at 8/1 and combining the nine-year-old in a number of doubles and trebles with other horses he owned. Despite finishing fastest of all, the horse did not enable the owner to collect the win part of the substantial wager, although Ramsden ended up in profit as Mr Snugfit came fourth behind West Tip.
In more recent years, one of the biggest gambles ever landed occurred in 2000, when the Irish-trained Papillon struck for the father and son partnership of Ted and Ruby Walsh. The nineyear- old had been available at 33/1 early in the morning of the great race, only to start at 10/1 after being selected by several pundits including the influential Pricewise of the Racing Post.
In 2003 Monty’s Pass, also an Irish-trained contestant, landed another gamble. Mike Futter, the front man of the five-strong Dee Racing Syndicate who owned the horse, estimated his own winnings at £800,000, while the overall haul of the syndicate was over £1 million. Futter backed the Jimmy Mangan-trained winner initially at 66/1 in the ante-post market and then continued to support his horse at rates down to 16/1, the starting price that Monty’s Pass was eventually sent off at.
Bookmakers again ran for cover as another heavily supported Irish raider took the spoils in the 2005 John Smith’s Grand National. Hedgehunter, well in contention when falling at the last fence in the 2004 renewal, was a solid 7/1 favourite to land the spoils a year later under Ruby Walsh. He proved a popular winner who prompted a multi-million pound payout from bookmakers as he came home 14 lengths clear of Royal Auclair. Hedgehunter was the well-backed 5/1 joint favourite when trying to land a second win last year, but he could not match fellow Irish raider Numbersixvalverde, himself a popular 11/1 chance.