Grand Annual

 The Grand Annual Chase is the oldest race at the Festival having first been staged on 4th April 1834 over 4 miles of open country at Andoversford, near Cheltenham. Although that race was discontinued in the 1860s, it was revived in the early 1900s, although it was staged at various courses, notably Warwick, Melton Mowbray and Leicester. It was only in 1913 that it returned permanently to Cheltenham and has been a significant part of the Festival ever since. It is run over 1 mile 7 furlongs and 199 yards and 14 fences and is now classed as a Premier Handicap. In 2005 its name was updated to the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase in recognition of the part played by Johnny Henderson, father of legendary trainer Nicky Henderson, in forming the Racecourse Holdings Trust which secured the future of Cheltenham by purchasing the Prestbury Park venue for £240,000.
Early history:- The inaugural running of Grand Annual Chase took place on April 4 1834 at Andoversford, in the vicinity of Cheltenham when won by Fugleman owned by Mr R D’Oyley beating Conrad owned by Colonel Gilbert.
Grand Annual 1843 Premier Handicap 4 miles
Pos. Horse Jockey Trainer Owner
1 THE PAGE William Holman Humphreys Mr Holman 10/1
2 SCOTSFOOT Jem Mason   Mr John Elmore 8/1
3 VANGUARD Goddard   Mr King 7/1
4 SPANGLE W Newman   Mr Powell 6/1
5 FORTY-TWO Tom Oliver   Captain Page 5/1 fav
6 BLACK LOTTERY Powell   Mr Stretton 10/1
7 LATHER T Ball   Lord E Russell 9/1
8 MARENGO Bretherton   Mr Bretherton 100/9
9 NIMROD Bill Scott   Mr Scott 20/1
10 DARLINGTON Frisby   Mr Ekins 25/1
11 TIDINGS Alan McDonough   Mr A McDonough 8/1
12 LITTLE AMIE Barton   Mr Barton 20/1
13 NAPOLEON J Crickmere   Colonel Charritie 10/1
14 THE RETURNED R Barker   Mr Crawford 10/1

Won by 7 lengths and a distance

 Over round 133%

The 1843 Grand Annual was run on Tuesday 11th April 1843 over a figure-of-eight course centred on the famous Andoversford Inn, just to the north west of Andoversford, and a key factor in who raced was the weight allocated to each horse. The original entry included Grand National winners Lottery, Gaylad and Charity, but there was a significant difference in how they were handicapped, with Lottery and Gaylad being allocated a prohibitive 15st 7lbs, while Charity was given just 12st. The outcome of such handicapping was that the public were denied the chance to see Lottery take on Gaylad, while Charity was also scratched. An unfortunate accident occurred towards the end of the race when The Page and The Returned were upsides each other at the penultimate fence, but The Returned took it sideways and fell upon his jockey R Barker whose life was immediately in danger. A hurdle was used as a stretcher to carry the patient to Whittington Court, owned by Mr John Arkell, where Barker was given medical attention, although 24-hours later thoughts of recovery were all but abandoned.