The 1989 Grand National was the 143rd renewal of the world-famous 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...

 horse race

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

 that took place at Aintree

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 8 April 1989.

The race was won in a time of ten minutes and 6.9 seconds and by a distance of seven lengths by Irish 12-year-old Little Polveir

Little Polveir

Little Polveir was a race horse. He won the 1989 Grand National steeplechase ridden by Jimmy Frost, beating West Tip by seven lengths...

. West Tip

West Tip

West Tip was a racehorse who won the Grand National in 1986, ridden by Richard Dunwoody. He fell in the 1985 race at Bechers Brook on the second circuit, and finished fourth in 1987 and 1988, second in 1989, tenth in 1990, on each occasion he was ridden by Dunwoody. He was retired after the 1990...

 was second and The Thinker third. 14 of the 40 runners completed the course.

The winner had been sold by a four-way partnership six weeks before the race to Edward Harvey. It was Little Polveir's fourth attempt in the Grand National; he was sent off at odds of 28/1 and was ridden by jockey Jimmy Frost. Frost's unborn son, Hadden, would attempt to emulate his father's victory 22 years later, riding Calgary Bay in the 2011 Grand National

2011 Grand National

The 2011 Grand National was the 164th renewal of the world-famous Grand National horse race held at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England....

.

There were two equine fatalities at Becher's Brook

Becher's Brook

Becher's Brook is a fence jumped during the Grand National, a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. It is jumped twice during the race, as the sixth and 22nd fence, as well as on four other occasions during the year...

. The deaths of Seeandem and Brown Trix came two years after the dramatic fatal fall of the popular Dark Ivy at Becher's, and Aintree took measures to reduce the severity of the fence after the 1989 race.

The main race was seen by a record Grand National crowd at Aintree, with 74,189 people in attendance, over 8,500 more than the previous year, and it would not be until the Monday race of 1997

1997 Grand National

The 1997 Grand National was the 150th official renewal of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase held at Aintree near Liverpool, England...

 that a larger crowd would attend the main race day.

Finishing order

Position	Name	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	Little Polveir Little Polveir Little Polveir was a race horse. He won the 1989 Grand National steeplechase ridden by Jimmy Frost, beating West Tip by seven lengths...	Jimmy Frost	12	10-03	28/1	Won by 7 lengths
2nd	West Tip West Tip West Tip was a racehorse who won the Grand National in 1986, ridden by Richard Dunwoody. He fell in the 1985 race at Bechers Brook on the second circuit, and finished fourth in 1987 and 1988, second in 1989, tenth in 1990, on each occasion he was ridden by Dunwoody. He was retired after the 1990...	Richard Dunwoody Richard Dunwoody Thomas Richard Dunwoody MBE is a retired British jockey in National Hunt racing. He was a three-time Champion Jockey, riding 1699 British winners in his career. His father was a leading Point to Point rider...	12	10-11	12/1	½ length
3rd	The Thinker	Simon Sherwood	11	11-10	10/1	6 lengths
4th	Lastofthebrownies	Tommy Carmody	9	10-00	16/1	5 lengths
5th	Durham Edition	Chris Grant	11	10-11	15/2	8 lengths
6th	Monanore	Graham McCourt	12	10-06	20/1	2½ lengths
7th	Gala's Image	Neale Doughty	9	10-03	18/1	1½ lengths
8th	Bonanza Boy	Peter Scudamore Peter Scudamore Peter Scudamore , known universally as 'Scu', is a former jockey and trainer in National Hunt racing. He was an eight-time Champion Jockey , riding 1,678 winners in his career...	8	11-01	10/1	4 lengths
9th	Team Challenge	Michael Bowlby	7	10-00	30/1	15 lengths
10th	Newnham	Mr. S Andrews	12	10-05	50/1	25 lengths
11th	The Thirsty Farmer	L Kelp	10	10-02	100/1
12th	Attitude Adjust	N Madden	9	10-06	25/1
13th	Sidbury Hill	Kevin Mooney	13	10-00	100/1
14th	Mr. Baker	M Moran	11	10-00	100/1

Non-finishers

Fence	Name	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
1st	Cerimau	P Hobbs	11	10-00	80/1	Fell
2nd	Cranlome	K F O'Brien	11	10-00	66/1	Fell
2nd	Bob Tisdall	J White	10	10-07	25/1	Refused
6th (Becher's Brook Becher's Brook Becher's Brook is a fence jumped during the Grand National, a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. It is jumped twice during the race, as the sixth and 22nd fence, as well as on four other occasions during the year... )	Hettinger	R Goldstein	9	10-00	300/1	Fell
6th (Becher's Brook Becher's Brook Becher's Brook is a fence jumped during the Grand National, a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. It is jumped twice during the race, as the sixth and 22nd fence, as well as on four other occasions during the year... )	Sir Jest	M Hammond	11	10-01	40/1	Brought down
6th (Becher's Brook Becher's Brook Becher's Brook is a fence jumped during the Grand National, a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. It is jumped twice during the race, as the sixth and 22nd fence, as well as on four other occasions during the year... )	Dixton House	T Morgan	10	10-03	7/1 F	Fell
6th (Becher's Brook Becher's Brook Becher's Brook is a fence jumped during the Grand National, a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. It is jumped twice during the race, as the sixth and 22nd fence, as well as on four other occasions during the year... )	Sergeant Sprite	T J Taaffe	9	10-02	50/1	Fell
6th (Becher's Brook Becher's Brook Becher's Brook is a fence jumped during the Grand National, a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. It is jumped twice during the race, as the sixth and 22nd fence, as well as on four other occasions during the year... )	Brown Trix	Mr. D Pitcher	11	10-05	300/1	Fell (fatally)
6th (Becher's Brook Becher's Brook Becher's Brook is a fence jumped during the Grand National, a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. It is jumped twice during the race, as the sixth and 22nd fence, as well as on four other occasions during the year... )	Seeandem	L Cusack	9	10-00	100/1	Fell (fatally)
11th	Friendly Henry	H Davies	9	10-04	66/1	Fell
11th	Perris Valley	B Sheridan	8	10-00	16/1	Fell
11th	Stearsby	B Powell	10	10-09	14/1	Refused
15th (The Chair)	Smartside	Mr. A Hambly	14	10-05	300/1	Refused
16th (Water Jump)	Mr. Chris	B Storey	10	10-00	200/1	Fell
18th	Beamwam	Mr. D Naylor-Leyland	11	10-06	100/1	Pulled up
19th	Gainsay	M Pitman	10	10-06	25/1	Fell
19th	Queensway Boy	A Webb	10	10-00	50/1	Refused
20th	Smart Tar	C Llewellyn	8	10-03	18/1	Fell
21st	Mearlin	S McNeill	10	10-00	300/1	Pulled up
21st	Numerate	T Davis	10	10-00	100/1	Pulled up
23rd (Foinavon Foinavon Foinavon was a relatively undistinguished Irish racehorse, until he became famous for winning the Grand National in 1967 after the rest of the field fell, refused or were hampered or brought down in a mêlée at the 23rd fence. He was at one time owned by Anne, Duchess of Westminster, whose colours... 's)	Kersil	A Orkney	12	10-00	300/1	Pulled up
25th (Valentine's)	Polar Nomad	A Merrigan	8	10-00	80/1	Pulled up
25th (Valentine's)	Bartres	G Bradley	10	10-03	33/1	Pulled up
27th	Rausal	D Tegg	10	10-00	50/1	Refused
27th	Memberson		11	10-02	33/1	Pulled up
27th	Mithras	R Stronge	11	10-01	66/1	Pulled up