April 2: On This Day in History … briefly
The 1973 race in which Red Rum secured his comeback victory from 30 lengths behind is often considered one of the greatest Grand Nationals in history. In a 2002 UK poll, Red Rum's historic third triumph in the Grand National was voted the 24th greatest sporting moment of all time.
1977: Red Rum pulls off hat trick
Britain’s favourite racehorse Red Rum crowned a magnificent career by becoming the first horse ever to win three Grand Nationals on April 2, 1977. The 12-year old galloped past the winning post to notch up another impressive victory at Liverpool’s Aintree race course and add to his unprecedented record in Britain’s premier steeplechase: wins in 1973 and 74 and second places in 1975 and 76.
Red Rum made light of of his 11 stone 8lb handicap, sailing over the 30 fences and finishing the four mile 856-yard (7.2km) race 25 lengths ahead. His performance surpassed the wildest dreams of his 89-year old owner retired businessman Noel Le Mare.
He ran another seven times as a two-year-old, winning over 7 furlongs at Warwick, and over the same distance at Doncaster in the first of his two races as a three-year-old. In his early career, he was twice ridden by Lester Piggott. The comedian Lee Mack, then a stable boy, had his first riding lesson on Red Rum.
Red Rum died on October 18, 1995, aged 30. His death was one of the lead items in television news bulletins and also made the front pages of national newspapers the next day.
He was buried at the winning post of the Aintree Racecourse, which is still a destination for his fans. The epitaph reads ‘Respect this place / this hallowed ground / a legend here / his rest has found / his feet would fly / our spirits soar / he earned our love for evermore’.
Eleven years after his death, a survey found he remained the best-known racehorse in the UK. When asked to name an equine animal, Red Rum was named by 45 percent of Britons, with Black Beauty (from Anna Sewell’s novel) in second with 33 percent. In 2002 the UK public voted Red Rum’s third Grand National win #24 in the list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.
In the early 1970s, the future running of the Grand National was uncertain. The emergence of Red Rum and his historic triumphs captivated the nation, and ensured huge public support for the fund to buy Aintree and put it in the hands of the Jockey Club.
On September 19, 2011, Red Rum’s trainer Ginger McCain died aged 80.
Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.
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