Grade 3 race | |
Location |
Aintree Racecourse, Aintree, Merseyside, England |
---|---|
Inaugurated | 1949 |
Race type | Steeplechase |
Sponsor | Crabbie's |
Website | www.aintree.co.uk |
Race information | |
Distance | 2 miles 5 furlongs 110 yards (4,325 metres) |
Surface | Turf |
Qualification | Five-years-old and up |
Weight |
Handicap Maximum: 11 st 10 lb |
Purse |
£120,000 (2016) 1st: £67,356 |
The Topham Chase is a Grade 3 National Hunt handicap chase in England which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Aintree over a distance of 2 miles and 5½ furlongs (4,325 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in April.
From 1989 to 2001 the race was named to commemorate the late clerk of the course John Hughes.
In April 2012 the race was won by Always Waining, trained by Peter Bowen ridden by Tom O'Brien. It was his third consecutive winning of the race.
The inaugural running of the Topham was in 1949. From then on, the Topham has become one of three races run over the Grand National Fences at the Aintree Festival, the other two races being the Fox Hunters Chase (amateur jockeys) and the Grand National itself.