The Chair
Encyclopedia
The Chair is a fence on Aintree Racecourse
's National Course and thus is one of 30 that are jumped during the Grand National
steeplechase
which is held annually at the racecourse near Liverpool
, England
.
It is the 15th fence that runners jump and is one of only two (the other being the 16th, the Water Jump) in the race to be negotiated only once.
Positioned in front of the grandstand
, it is the tallest fence in the race, at 5ft 3in, preceded by a 6ft open ditch on the takeoff side. The Chair is also comfortably the narrowest fence on the Grand National course, bar the Water Jump. The landing side of The Chair fence is actually 6 in above the ground on the takeoff side, creating the reverse of Becher's Brook
, meaning the ground effectively comes up to meet horse and rider quicker than anticipated.
Generally it is jumped fairly safely by most horses in the Grand National field, probably due to the lengthy run they have before reaching the fence, and because, by the time the fence is approached, most of the runners have settled into a smooth running rhythm. However, it regularly claims fallers, not just in the Grand National but other races held over the course. Perhaps The Chair's most notorious pile up occurred during the 1979 Grand National, won by Rubstic. Two loose horses veered across the main body of the field and contributed to the falls or refusals of nine horses, including Kintai who had to be euthanised as a result of injuries sustained when he was brought down. For the following year's race, in which Ben Nevis returned and won after becoming one of the victims in the aforementioned pile-up, channels were installed around the fence so that loose horses reluctant to negotiate the obstacle were able to bypass it rather than jump over it. There has been no equine fatality in the Grand National at The Chair since 1977, and only three since the race was founded in 1839
.
The fence has caught out numerous Grand National winners over the years, including Russian Hero (1951), Ayala (1964), Rubstic (1980) and Silver Birch (2006).
The Chair receives its name from the chair once sited alongside the fence, at which a distance judge would sit when races used to be run in heats. Horses that tailed off too far were disqualified from later heats.
*Race void
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....
's National Course and thus is one of 30 that are jumped during 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...
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...
which is held annually at the racecourse 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...
.
It is the 15th fence that runners jump and is one of only two (the other being the 16th, the Water Jump) in the race to be negotiated only once.
Positioned in front of the grandstand
Grandstand
A grandstand is a large and normally permanent structure for seating spectators, most often at a racetrack. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap all or most of the way...
, it is the tallest fence in the race, at 5ft 3in, preceded by a 6ft open ditch on the takeoff side. The Chair is also comfortably the narrowest fence on the Grand National course, bar the Water Jump. The landing side of The Chair fence is actually 6 in above the ground on the takeoff side, creating the reverse of 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...
, meaning the ground effectively comes up to meet horse and rider quicker than anticipated.
Generally it is jumped fairly safely by most horses in the Grand National field, probably due to the lengthy run they have before reaching the fence, and because, by the time the fence is approached, most of the runners have settled into a smooth running rhythm. However, it regularly claims fallers, not just in the Grand National but other races held over the course. Perhaps The Chair's most notorious pile up occurred during the 1979 Grand National, won by Rubstic. Two loose horses veered across the main body of the field and contributed to the falls or refusals of nine horses, including Kintai who had to be euthanised as a result of injuries sustained when he was brought down. For the following year's race, in which Ben Nevis returned and won after becoming one of the victims in the aforementioned pile-up, channels were installed around the fence so that loose horses reluctant to negotiate the obstacle were able to bypass it rather than jump over it. There has been no equine fatality in the Grand National at The Chair since 1977, and only three since the race was founded in 1839
1839 Grand National
The 1839 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase was the first official annual running of a steeplechase which later became known as the Grand National.It was held at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 26 February 1839 and attracted a field of seventeen runners.Although recorded by the press at...
.
The fence has caught out numerous Grand National winners over the years, including Russian Hero (1951), Ayala (1964), Rubstic (1980) and Silver Birch (2006).
The Chair receives its name from the chair once sited alongside the fence, at which a distance judge would sit when races used to be run in heats. Horses that tailed off too far were disqualified from later heats.
Number of fallers
This table documents the number of runners which fell in recent Grand Nationals at The Chair, including those who unseated riders or were brought down, but not those who were pulled up, carried out or refused at the fence:| Year | Falls | Equine fatalities |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 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.... |
0 | 0 |
| 2010 2010 Grand National The 2010 Grand National was the 163rd renewal of the world-famous Grand National horse race that took place at the Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 10 April 2010.... |
1 | 0 |
| 2009 2009 Grand National The 2009 Grand National was the 162nd renewal of the world-famous Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 4 April 2009... |
1 | 0 |
| 2008 2008 Grand National The 2008 Grand National was the 161st official annual running of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase which took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 5 April 2008 and attracted the maximum allowed field of 40 competitors, for total prize money of £450,640.Joint-favourite... |
0 | 0 |
| 2007 2007 Grand National The 2007 Grand National was the 160th official annual running of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase which took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 14 April 2007 and attracted the maximum permitted field of forty competitors for a total prize money of £700,000... |
0 | 0 |
| 2006 2006 Grand National The 2006 Grand National was the 159th official annual running of the Grand National steeplechase which took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 8 April 2006 and attracted the maximum permitted field of forty competitors for total prize money of £689,360 including £399,140 to the... |
3 | 0 |
| 2005 2005 Grand National The 2005 Grand National was the 158th official annual running of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase which took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 9 April 2005 and attracted the maximum permitted field of forty competitors for total prize money of £700,000 including £406,000 to... |
1 | 0 |
| 2004 2004 Grand National The 2004 Grand National was the 157th official annual running of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase which took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 3 April 2004 and attracted the maximum permitted field of 40 competitors for total prize money of £600,000 including £348,000 to the... |
1 | 0 |
| 2003 2003 Grand National The 2003 Grand National was the 156th renewal of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase that took place at Aintree at 3:45pm BST, on 5 April 2003.... |
1 | 0 |
| 2002 2002 Grand National The 2002 Grand National was the 155th official renewal of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, at 3:45pm BST on 6 April 2002.... |
0 | 0 |
| 2001 2001 Grand National The 2001 Grand National was the 154th official renewal of the world-famous Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 7 April 2001.... |
3 | 0 |
| 2000 2000 Grand National The 2000 Grand National was the 153rd official renewal of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase that took place at Aintree on 8 April 2000.... |
0 | 0 |
| 1999 1999 Grand National The 1999 Grand National was the 152nd official renewal of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 10 April 1999.... |
0 | 0 |
| 1998 1998 Grand National The 1998 Grand National was the 151st official renewal of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 4 April 1998.... |
0 | 0 |
| 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... |
1 | 0 |
| 1996 1996 Grand National The 1996 Grand National was the 149th official renewal of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase that took place at Aintree on 30 March 1996.... |
0 | 0 |
| 1995 1995 Grand National The 1995 Grand National was the 148th official renewal of the famous Grand National steeplechase that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 8 April 1995.... |
0 | 0 |
| 1994 1994 Grand National The 1994 Grand National was the 147th official renewal the world-famous Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 9 April 1994.... |
2 | 0 |
| 1993 1993 Grand National The 1993 Grand National was scheduled on 3 April 1993 to be the 147th official renewal of the Grand National horse race, held annually at Aintree near Liverpool, England.... * |
0 | 0 |
| 1992 1992 Grand National The 1992 Grand National was the 146th official renewal of the world-famous Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 4 April 1992.... |
1 | 0 |
| 1991 1991 Grand National The 1991 Grand National was the 145th renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 6 April 1991.... |
1 | 0 |
| 1990 1990 Grand National The 1990 Grand National was the 144th renewal of the world-famous Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 7 April 1990.... |
1 | 0 |
| 1989 1989 Grand National The 1989 Grand National was the 143rd renewal of the world-famous Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 8 April 1989.... |
0 | 0 |
| 1988 1988 Grand National The 1988 Grand National was the 142nd renewal of the world-famous Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 9 April 1988.... |
0 | 0 |
*Race void
See also
- List of equine fatalities in the Grand National
- Becher's BrookBecher's BrookBecher'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...
- FoinavonFoinavonFoinavon 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...
- Canal TurnCanal TurnThe 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....