1840 Grand National
| Grand National | |
| Location | Aintree |
|---|---|
| Date | 5 March 1840 |
| Winning horse | Jerry |
| Jockey | Mr Bartholomew Bretherton |
| Trainer | George Dockeray |
| Owner | Henry Villebois |
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← 1839
1841 →
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The 1840 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase was the second official annual running of a steeplechase, later to become known as the Grand National Steeplechase handicap horse race, which took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool on Thursday 5 March 1840 and attracted a then smallest ever field of 13 runners.
Although recorded by the press at the time as the fifth running of the Grand Liverpool, which was renamed the Grand National in 1847, the first three runnings were poorly organised affairs.
The race was not run as a handicap chase and therefore all the runners were declared to carry 12 stone.
The course was laid out with eleven obstacles in total with the competitors starting from the bend at the end of the finishing straight beside the stables. The first obstacle was an iron rail of 3 feet 5 inches into the Melling Road. The runners then jumped out of the road over a hedge and ditch 7 feet 11 inches high. The third fence was also a ditch some ten feet wide and the fourth an even bigger ditch of 16 feet to clear. Fence five was a slightly smaller ditch before the runners cleared an obstacle of little consequence to be considered an actual fence. The fence that would gradually come to be known as Becher's Brook was next with a clearance of 20 feet. The runners then turned sharply towards the Canal over a considerable jump with a steep landing side. The eighth fence was the second brook and ran along the canal side, this was followed by a ditch and rail with a thirteen foot span. The tenth fence was a leap into the Anchor Bridge and almost instantly straight back out again to bring the runners back towards the stands and the only fence on the course, a dry stone wall rising from 4 foot 6 inches to 4 foot 10 on the outside. The runners then set off to jump the first ten fences, along with other insignificant obstacles before bypassing the wall on the run to the finish post.
The majority of the course was plough land with turf only on the racecourse proper and it was speculated by witnesses that the majority of the fences had been lowered slightly from last year in the wake of criticism.
The competitors reached the newly named Becher's Brook without incident where Cruickshank stumbled on landing and was cannoned into by Weathercock with both falling. The former was remounted by his jockey, Guy, albeit with a severely bloodied nose while the latter's rider, Barker was carried unconscious to Seed's farmhouse nearby.
Valentine had established a good lead at this stage in his owner's bid to secure a bet that his mount would be first to complete a circuit of the course. Upon reaching the second brook beyond the Canal Turn, Valentine made to refuse but his momentum was such that the horse corkscrewed, almost backwards over the obstacle. His rider remained in the saddle and despite his rivals gaining much ground, the pairing continued intact to complete the circuit in the lead and secure the bet while behind him Hasty fell and was quickly remounted.
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