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A-Z of the Grand National
3 March, 2008
Horse & Hound reviews the newly launched "A-Z of the Grand National: the official guide to the world's most famous steeplechase" by John Cottrell & Marcus Armytage
The Grand National holds a special place in the hearts of equestrians and the general public alike and this paperback will sit comfortably on the bookshelves of both regular racegoers and armchair enthusiasts.
It is the definite work about this unique sporting occasion, being packed with more than 600 entries relating to fascinating information on every aspect of the race. Whether you want to know the winners and placed horses going right back to 1839 or how many times the race has had to be abandoned, the information is right at your fingertips.
The biggest names associated with the great event are documented in detail — horse, jockey, owner and trainer alike — as well as the famous fences themselves.
Many of the anecdotes make fascinating reading such as the lady owner who attacked her jockey with an umbrella after he remounted her horse three times to finish fourth and last, or the jockey dubbed "the kamikaze pilot" who sustained more than a hundred fractures in falls at Aintree.
However obscure the question, if it's about the Grand National then the answer is to be found within these pages. It is a gold mine of information for punters and pub quiz masters alike.
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