Fontwell Park is one of the oldest watering holes in Britain! Named the 'Font', Roman soldiers knew the spring by the side of the road as an important stopping point on their journeys between the ancient towns of Chichester and Arundel. Passing monks who relied on the stream for clean drinking water, added the Anglo-Saxon word 'well', and ever since the village of Fontwell has stood at the busy junction of routes across West Sussex. However, it was only in 1923 that Alfred Day allowed his gallops to be developed into a course by the Fontwell Park Steeplechase Committee. He laid out the unique figure of eight steeplechase course at Fontwell Park in 1924, creating an important meeting place for the local community. Both the spring and the well can be found today within the grounds at Fontwell Park. The first meeting took place on Wednesday 21st May 1924, with the Duke of Richmond in attendance; Gem became the very first winner when ridden by F.B.Rees the champion jockey (Result shown below). Like the majority of courses, Fontwell closed during the war, but in 1947 National Spirit won at the course in preparation for his Champion Hurdle victory in 1947, repeating the feat the next year. The course launched the National Spirit Challenge Trophy to mark that success. Two years later Monaveen won at the October meeting to provide Princess Elizabeth, later to become Queen, her first racing success. It was the only horse she jointly owned with the Queen Mother. In 1951 Nickel Coin used a Fontwell victory as a stepping stone to Aintree success in the Grand National. Currently the course hosts 11 fixtures annually.
The West Sussex cathedral city of Chichester is the only city in the county and is its county town. It can trace its history back to before Roman times and was even an important centre in the Anglo-Saxon period. Its cathedral dates back to the 12th century. In the mid-1700s it staged its own race meetings, the first of which took place in 1735. The ‘County History of Sussex’ recorded that Chichester races took place in 1735 but seem to have been of very small importance. A further meeting was hosted in Chichester in 1740.
The rare handbill shown below is provided courtesy of the Robert Shaw collection.
The principal race at the track is the Grade 2 National Spirit Hurdle over 2 miles 4 furlongs. It is named after National Spirit who won the Champion Hurdle twice and, in a long successful career won 32 of his 85 starts. The inaugural running of the race was in 1965 when won by Salmon Spray. All winners are shown below.
1965 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Salmon Spray, trained by Bob Turnell and ridden by Johnny Haine
1966 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Johns-Wort, trained by J F Norris and ridden by Michael Scudamore
1967 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Sempervivum, trained by Fulke Walwyn and ridden by T Jennings
1968 The National Spirit Hurdle was abandoned
1969 The National Spirit Hurdle was abandoned
1970 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Coral Diver, trained by Fred Rimell and ridden by Terry Biddlecombe
1971 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Varma, trained by M Masson and ridden by David Mould
1972 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by St Patrick’s Blue, trained by D Tatlow and ridden by David Mould
1973 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Brantridge Farmer, trained by Miss Aureil Sinclair and ridden by Richard Rowell
1974 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Brantridge Farmer, trained by Fulke Walwyn and ridden by Terry Biddlecombe
1975 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Bladon, trained by Fred Winter and ridden by Robert Kington
1976 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Comedy of Errors, trained by Fred Rimell and ridden by John Burke
1977 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Comedy of Errors, trained by Fred Rimell and ridden by John Burke
1978 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Kybo, trained by Josh Gifford and ridden by Bob Champion
1979 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Bird’s Nest, trained by Bob Turnell and ridden by Andy Turnell
1980 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Snowtown Boy, trained by Fred Winter and ridden by John Francome
1981 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Random Leg, trained by Josh Gifford and ridden by Bob Champion
1982 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Mr Moonraker, trained by Miss S Morris and ridden by Paul Carvill
1983 The National Spirit Hurdle was abandoned due to frost.
1984 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Cut A Dash, trained by Mrs N Smith and ridden by John Francome
1985 The National Spirit Hurdle was abandoned due to frost
1986 The National Spirit Hurdle was abandoned due to frost
1987 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Corporal Clinger, trained by Martin Pipe and ridden by Peter Scudamore
1988 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Vagador, trained by Guy Harwood and ridden by Mark Perrett
1989 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Beech Road, trained by Toby Balding and ridden by Richard Guest
1990 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Vagador, trained by Guy Harwood and ridden by Mark Perrett
1991 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Al Asoof, trained by Peter Hedger and ridden by Mark Richards
1992 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Honest Word, trained by Martin Pipe and ridden by Peter Scudamore
1993 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Flown, trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Richard Dunwoody
1994-98 The National Spirit Hurdle was not held
1999 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Lady Cricket, trained by Martin Pipe and ridden by Tony McCoy
2000 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Male-Ana-Mou, trained by Jamie Poulton and ridden by Andrew Thornton
2001 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Baracouda, trained by Francois Doumen and ridden by Thierry Doumen
2002 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Rouble, trained by Josh Gifford and ridden by Leighton Aspell
2003 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Classified, trained by Martin Pipe and ridden by Tony McCoy
2004 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Starzaan, trained by Hughie Morrison and ridden by Timmy Murphy
2005 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Blue Canyon, trained by Francois Doumen and ridden by Tony McCoy
2006 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by My Way de Solzen, trained by Alan King and ridden by Robert Thornton
2007 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by United, trained by Lucy Wadham and ridden by Leighton Aspell
2008 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Lough Derg, trained by David Pipe and ridden by Tom Scudamore
2009 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Lough Derg, trained by David Pipe and ridden by Tom Scudamore
2010 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Trenchant, trained by Alan King and ridden by Robert Thornton
2011 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Celestial Hero, trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Harry Skelton
2012 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Third Intention, trained by Colin Tizzard and ridden by Joe Tizzard
2013 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Prospect Wells, trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Daryl Jacob
2014 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Kayf Moss, trained by John Flint and ridden by Rhys Flint
2015 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Kilcooley, trained by Charlie Longsdon and ridden by Noel Fehily
2016 The National Spirit Hurdle was won by Lil Rockerfeller, trained by Neil King and ridden by Trevor Whelan
