Grand Annual
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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 1979 | Premier Handicap | 2 miles | ||
| Pos. | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Owner |
| 1 | CASBAH | Graham Thorner | Tim Forster | Lord Leverhulme 5/1 |
| 2 | MARSHELSTOWN | Tommy Carmody | A E Dickinson | Mr D Adams 7/1 |
| 3 | DYSCOLE | Bill Smith | Derek Kent | Mrs N Fenton 7/2 fav |
| 4 | TIEPOLINO | Steve Smith-Eccles | Guy Harwood | Mr A Ward 10/1 |
| 5 | ROYAL ROSEBERRY | Colin Tinkler | M W Easterby | Mr W Jackson 4/1 |
| 6 | IRELANDS OWEN | Philip Blacker | J A C Edwards | Mrs R Horrocks 9/1 |
| 7 | MAJOR OWEN | B R Davies | Nicky Henderson | Robert Waley-Cohen 12/1 |
| 8 | EMPEROR'S GIFT | Nigel Twiston-Davies | Kim Bailey | Mr W Davies 12/1 |
| 9 | FOURTH SON | P O'Brien | Fred Winter | Mr G Ward 16/1 |
| 10 | STANWAY LAD | K Whyte | Frenchie Nicholson | Mr M Priest 20/1 |
Won by 1 1/2 lengths and 4 lengths |
Over round 116% | |||
The 1979 Grand Annual was held on Tuesday 13th March 1979 |
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