The 1836 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase was the first of three unofficial annual precursors of a handicap race which later became known as the Grand National

Grand National

The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...

.

The steeplechase

Steeplechase

Steeplechase may refer to:* Steeplechase, an event in horse racing* SteepleChase, a Danish jazz label* Steeplechase , a 1975 arcade game released by Atari...

 was held at Aintree Racecourse

Aintree Racecourse

Aintree Racecourse is a racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England.It was served by Aintree Racecourse railway station until the station closed in the 1960s....

 near Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 on 29 February 1836 and attracted a field of ten runners.

The winning horse was The Duke

The Duke (racehorse)

The Duke was a racehorse that won the first Great Liverpool Steeplechase at Aintree, which would be later renamed the Grand National. His rider was Captain Martin Becher after whom the famous fence Becher's Brook was named...

, ridden by Captain Martin Becher

Martin Becher

Martin William Becher was a former soldier and steeplechase jockey in whose memory the infamous Becher's Brook obstacle at Aintree Racecourse is named.-Military career:...

 in the violet with white sleeves and cap colours of Mr Sirdefield, the landlord of the George Inn in Great Crosby

Great Crosby

Great Crosby is an area of the town of Crosby, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England.-Location:In 1907, the Victoria County History described Great Crosby's location thus: 'The ancient township of Great Crosby, which includes Waterloo, lies on the northern shore of the estuary...

 and was trained privately. The race was won in a time of 20 minutes 10 seconds, over twice the present course record.

The race was a selling race and its status as an official Grand National was revoked some time between 1862 and 1873.

Finishing order

Position	Horse	Jockey Jockey A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...	Age	Weight	SP	Distance
1st	The Duke The Duke (racehorse) The Duke was a racehorse that won the first Great Liverpool Steeplechase at Aintree, which would be later renamed the Grand National. His rider was Captain Martin Becher after whom the famous fence Becher's Brook was named...	Captain Martin Becher Martin Becher Martin William Becher was a former soldier and steeplechase jockey in whose memory the infamous Becher's Brook obstacle at Aintree Racecourse is named.-Military career:...		12-00	3/1	1 length
2nd	[Polyanthus	Dick Christian Dick Christian -Biography:Christian was the son of James and Jane Christian of Cottesmore, Rutland. He was taken on as a groom by Sir Gilbert Heathcote and was subsequently employed by the Cottesmore Hunt, of which Sir Gilbert was Master. In 1809 he set up as a farmer in North Luffenham and in the 1820s he moved...		12-00	5/1
3rd	Cockahoop	Bartholomew Bretherton Bartholomew Bretherton Bartholomew Bretherton was a coach proprietor from Rainhill near St Helens who also rode many times in the Grand National as an amateur rider, winning the race in 1840 in the colours of Henry Villebois on his horse Jerry...		12-00	9/1
4th	Percy	Mr Tempest		12-00	6/1

Non-finishers

Horse	Jockey Jockey A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...	Age	Weight	SP	Fate
Laurie Todd	Horatio Powell		12-00	2/1 F	Fell at a gate that had been nailed shut
The Baronet	Mr Kershaw		12-00	6/1	Tailed off by the time the leaders reached the First Brook second time
Derry	John Devine		12-00	8/1	Tailed off by the time the leaders reached the First Brook second time
Gulliver	Mr Denton		12-00	8/1	Pulled up after one circuit
The Sweep	Giles Patrick		12-00	10/1	Tailed off by the time the leaders reached the First Brook second time
Cowslip	S Martin		12-00	12/1	Pulled up after one circuit

The race

The race was started at 2pm over a course almost identical to the modern Grand National course, although the fences were all no more than 2 foot (0.6096 m) high earth banks with the exceptions of two brooks and a water jump in front of the stands.

Despite this at least three of the runners had to be put at the first fence for a second time after refusing. None of the ten riders are known to have been thrown from their mounts during the first circuit but 'Gulliver and Cowslip came back onto the racecourse some distance behind the other eight runners and in such a distressed state that their riders did not continue onto the second circuit.

The favourite, Laurie Todd was knocked out of the race in unsportsmanlike circumstances when his rider took the horse down a lane alongisde the course towards the first brook. This was within the rules of the race and a gate at the end of the lane had in fact been nailed open to facilitate the use of the lane. A spectator took exception to the use of the lane on the first circuit and freed the gate, nailing it shut before the rider returned. The gate proved too high for Laurie Todd to jump and the horse became the first to fall in the race. As Horatio Powell attempted to remount his horse it was alleged that another rider, Bartholomew Bretherton, deliberately steered his horse towards Powell in order to prevent him remounting. The rider of the favourite was knocked back to the ground and forced to retire from the race through injury. He did not however lodge any protest on his return to the weighing room, suggesting that the act was considered part of the game.

Baronet, The Sweep and Derry were all tailed off or out of the race entirely by the time the leaders reached the first brook for the second time and did not complete the race.

Cockahoop and Percy remained in contention until reaching the Canal Turn

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 near Liverpool, England....

for the second time after which they were left behind to finish the race in third and fourth place respectively.

The Duke and Polyanthus were the two horses who disputed the finish of the race and came back onto the racecourse together. Both horsesmade jumping errors at the final hurdle before The Duke prevailed by one length with Polyanthus finishing second.

Aftermath

The race largely failed to capture the public imagination and came in for scathing comments from some of the local press. By the time the first Grand National historians began emerging in the early 1860s this race, and the two which would follow in 1837 and 1838, had largely been forgotten by the passing of time and fading memories. As a result, when the first honours board was erected at Aintree in the early 1890s this race was totally omitted and remained forgotten for over a century before being rediscovered early in the 21st Century. It is still regarded officially by Aintree as not being worthy of Grand National status and is instead regarded as the first of three unofficial precursors over the same course.