The Stanley Chase by Paul Davies
Aintree racecourse;Ascot;Ayr;Bangor;Bath;Beverley;Brighton;Carlisle;Cartmel;Catterick;Cheltenham Festival;Chepstow;Chester;Doncaster St Leger;Epsom Derby;Exeter racecourse;Fakenham;Folkestone;Fontwell Park;Glorious Goodwood;Hamilton Park;Haydock Park;Hereford Racecourse;Hexham;Huntingdon;Kelso;Kempton Park;Leicester;Lingfield;Ludlow;Market Rasen;Musselburgh;Newbury Racecourse;Newcastle;Newmarket;Newton Abbot;Nottingham;Perth;Plumpton;Pontefract Racecourse;Redcar;Ripon;Salisbury;Sandown Park;Sedgefield;Southwell;Stratford;Taunton;Thirsk;Towcester;Uttoxeter;Warwick;Wetherby;Wincanton;Windsor;Wolverhampton;Worcester;Yarmouth;York Ebor
The Stanley Chase issue is now at the printers and will be available from Friday 26th September.
This fascinating and much misunderstood race was an annual feature of the Spring Meeting at Aintree between 1893 and 1952. A novices’ chase, run over a circuit of the National course, the race produced its fair share of hairy moments. On four occasions all runners fell, but remarkably, perhaps, the race was never declared void; at least one horse was remounted each year to claim victory.
Much of the race’s notoriety was earned during the period 1900-13 when the course proved too much of a challenge to most runners. However, the percentage of finishers was actually better than the Grand National during this time. The Stanley Chase was also an excellent race for horses with long-term Grand National ambitions. Nine future National winners contested the Stanley Chase, with five winning.
Until the outbreak of the Second World War, the standard of runners in the Stanley Chase was good, with the leading jumps stables recognised the educational value of the race.
Following the war, the race entered a short but terminal period of decline. It was run for the final time in 1952, eventually being replaced by a new contest, the Mildmay Chase, run on the new course of the same name.
The booklet contains a year-by-year history, results and records and a re-evaluation of the race.
Price: £6.25. If you order before 26 September, you pay only £5.50 (cheques/postal orders (payable to P S Davies) or paypal (psdavies@hotmail.com.
Send payment to TCR, 38 Manor Road, Hoylake, Wirral, Merseyside, CH47 3DF
SPECIAL OFFER
Order the Stanley Chase and receive the Triumph Hurdle and La Touche TCRs for an extra £4.50 (£10 in total).
Copies are available from : www.thecompleterecord.co.uk