Pretty sure Red Rum and Crisp were joint favs. somewhere around the 10/1 mark??!?! Crisp is easily the unluckiest horse in National History, to give a horse that would go on to place twice in the race and win twice more a good stone and a half and get chinned on the line is really tough luck. Did win a QMCC though so not a completely barren career.
SALIENT has a big chance in that race tomorrow, conditions near perfect and back to a very winnable mark. Yard a bit in and out but I think he is worth an EW at 16-1
Crisp "easily the unluckiest horse in National history"....you have obviously never heard of Devon Loch then George!
9/1 jfs "Crisp ran only once more after his second-place effort in the 1973 National, at Doncaster the following season. One by one, the other runners were withdrawn, until the race turned into a match, off level weights, between Crisp and Red Rum. Crisp won by 10 lengths, but injured himself in doing so, and was retired. Pitman, his jockey, said in a 2003 interview that following his retirement from racing, Crisp then hunted for the next eight seasons. He died out hunting, and was buried at the entrance of his then-owner's estate. A cherry tree was planted over the grave, which flowers at Grand National time."
haha perhaps. in my book devon loch had himself to 'blame' as such whereas Crisp ran into, what subsequently proved to be, a ridiculously well handicapped Aintree Specialist but I do see where you're coming from. Still feel bad for the Queen Mum too would have been quite a story and she never won the race in the end either.
I was only a kid when Devon Loch collapsed yards from the post. My dad, brother and brother-in-law got me to sort out their bets while they went off to the football match. I studied the form and selected ESB and Sundew. The bets were written out, awaiting the bookie's runner to pick up and off they went. Before the runner arrived I did a final study and had the bet changed to lump all on Devon Loch. Oh dear.
Toon: Well, OK, but a bit harsh to "blame" the horse? Rider Dick Francis always maintained that the sheer noise of the crowd celebrating a royal victory (there were plenty of royalists around in those days) almost certainly frightened the horse to such an extent that he did the splits in terror. Francis dismissed unequivocally the notion that Devon Loch had some sort of muscle spasm. I favour the opinion of Dick Francis over anyone else's. As for Crisp, the saddest National I ever saw. He was unfairly overloaded with weight and the effort must have damn near killed him. Reminded me of Phar Lap's last Melbourne Cup run where the Victorian Racing Club's toffee-nosed powers-to-be allotted him a ridiculous weight which in the end proved too much for even this great racehorse.
To be fair to the handicapper, he probably got Crisp right, he ran a massive race but unfortunately for him the handicapper got RR wrong. I find it hard to feel sorry for any horse in a handicap, its the nature of the beast.
Quel: Well, no for seconds I'm afraid. Tipped one myself today e/w (Friday) in which 16/1 was available at time of posting. Lost by a head in a six-horse race. That's the way it goes! There's always tomorrow!
