The Grimthorpe Chase
This Doncaster race has a long and varied history but is now a prime stop on the road to Aintree.
The Grimthorpe Chase, run here at Doncaster, has had a varied and intermittent history. Some years it dipped out of the programme book completely while at other times the distance of the race has been radically altered. However in the spirit of Charles Darwin, whose The Origin of Species is currently celebrating its 150th anniversary, the Grimthorpe which may once have been teetering on the edge of extinction has adapted to suit prevailing conditions evolving into a leading Grand National trial.
The eponymous Grimthorpe family have been involved in racing for many years. Ralph Beckett, the third Baron Grimthorpe owned Fragrant Mac, who won the 1952 Scottish Grand National, as well as Fortina who was victorious in the 1947 Cheltenham Gold Cup. Fortina went on to sire Fort Leney and Glencaraig Lady who emulated his feat at Prestbury Park. Christopher Beckett, the fourth Baron, was a member of the Jockey Club and director of Thirsk Racecourse.
Prior to the early 1980s the Grimthorpe was run over two miles and 150 yards, taking place on the same card as the Rossington Main Hurdle. The distance was then upped dramatically nearly doubling to a stamina testing four miles and 100 yards.
The 1987 renewal, over the longer trip, included the winners of the last three Scottish Nationals in the form of dual-winner Androma and Hardy Lad. The latter won the race however third-placed Little Polveir went on to win at Ayr, reversing the placings with Hardy Lad, and followed up two years later in the Grand National.
The distance was changed again to the current trip of three and a quarter miles in the 1990s when it was run as the Velka Pardubicka Grimthorpe Chase. This provided a tie-in with the famous race run in the Czech Republic (previously Bohemia) which is an exacting challenge over varied obstacles, including sections over ploughed fields. The Velka Parubicka course was based on the Grand National course of the 1880s inspired by the Aintree success of Bohemia-born Count Kinsky on his own Zoedene.
