Famous Race Horses - Red Rum Part Three

This is the final part of my article about possibly theand he was working well in the build up to the race.
most famous race horse of all time, the great RedUnfortunately, in an unlucky twist of fate he was
Rum.declared a non-runner the night before due to
With two Grand National victories under his belt, Redlameness. He was later found to have a hairline
Rum was aiming to put himself on the famous racefracture and would never race again, bringing about his
horse map with a third Grand National victory, butretirement.
would he succeed?It was not a surprise that his withdrawal from the
Mission AccomplishedNational in 1978 dominated all the news. It was a
The third of Red Rum's classic Grand National victoriestestament to this famous race horse's enormous public
came in 1977, when the now great horse was 12following and although his injury ruled him out of
years old. Ginger McCain had meticulously preparedcompeting, that day the Liverpool crowds were not to
and trained especially for this race and Red Rum didbe disappointed.
not disappoint, putting in another tremendousHe would make an appearance by leading the
performance.pre-race parade, an engagement that would later
He showed throughout that he was in perfect formbecame an annual event.
for this race, and just after second Becher's he tookRed Rum's retirement was announced by his trainer
the lead and continued on to win in style.Ginger McCain on Friday 31 March 1978. During his
No horse since has come close to emulating the featretirement it seemed that Rummy was still as popular
of winning a hat trick of Grand Nationals, which wasas he had been throughout his racing career.
made more incredible considering his well documentedDuring his retirement he made numerous public
foot problems.appearances, most memorably walking calmly on
In fact, very few would have imagined that Rummystage for the BBC Sports Review of the Year.
would become the famous race horse that heRed Rum sadly died on Wednesday 18 October 1995
became due to the severity of his condition, howeveraged 30, having enjoyed a long and happy retirement
his courage saw him overcome that obstacle asto follow his long, happy and successful racing career.
successfully as he would jump over the fences at hisHe was finally put to sleep having suffered a heart
favourite Aintree course.attack, and was fittingly laid to rest in the shadow of
Most experts were convinced however, that histhe winning post at Aintree, the course he had made
enforced unorthodox training grounds on Southporthis own.
sands (in the absence of proper gallops) helped himRed Rum won a total of 27 races during his career,
overcome a condition that had plagued him during hisamassing over £100,000 in prize money (which
early years.was a record for a jump horse at the time).
To emphasis the consistency of this famous raceThroughout his turbulent career he had many jockeys,
horse consider this;but Tommy Stack who rode him as a five, six and
Red Rum won the Grand National in 1973, 1974 andseven year old, and again in his later years (including his
1977 however, it should also be noted that in the 1975final two Grand Nationals) remains his most successful
and 1976 Grand Nationals, this magnificent horse camepartner.
second on both occasions. Can you imagine that withMany will however, think of Brian Fletcher as his
a little bit more luck Rummy could've had beatenregular jockey. Particularly given the awesome
L'Escargot (1975) and Rag Trade (1976), and then we'dpartnership they formed to win the 1973 and 1974
be looking the even more spectacular feat of fiveGrand Nationals and who could forget his first victory
consecutive Grand National wins.in the race when beating the great Australian Crisp, in
Injuries Finally Caught Up With The Great Horsewhat is still considered by many to be the greatest
Red Rum was entered in the Grand National in 1978,ever Grand National.