Nicolaus Silver

Horses | Last ran in 1963
Dam - Rays Of Montrose
Sire - Nicolaus
Dam's Sire - Montrose
Born - 1952

Nicolaus Silver Grand National Wins

  • 1961 - ridden by Bobby Beasley trained by Thomas Frederic Rimell

Grand National 1961 Nicolaus SilverWhen you think of the Grand National, there are a few things that stick in your mind, such as the way in which people enjoy the race or what to look out for. Grey runners are one of the most common. They always draw attention, many people will back them blind, and they’re always going to get a little more media attention than others.

But the record for grey runners in the race is pretty poor when you consider how many we’ve seen over the years. However, here we do have a grey horse who was fortunate enough to win the Grand National, at the time, the second grey horse to win the race, and he was named Nicolaus Silver.

After winning the 1961 race, we had to wait until 2012 to see the next grey winner, so anyone deciding to back grey runners after this win was in for a long wait to get a return. Before that, it was 90 years since the first grey winner of the Grand National, again a huge time gap for anyone following this method of picking runners.

The success would come at the first time of asking for the horse, though he would return to Aintree for two more attempts at the race in the following years. He would complete the course every time, finishing 7th in 1962 and 10th in 1963, both with plenty more weight on his back.

Fred Rimell would train the horse on all three outings, and he would eventually go on to become a Grand National legend. This was the second time he had won the big race, but he would eventually record a total of four wins as a trainer, a considerable feat considering how competitive this race is and how many runners try to win it.

The horse was initially trained in Ireland by Dan Kirwan, but when the horse was eight, his trainer died suddenly, leaving his runners to be sold. He attracted plenty of interest because he was already in the Grand National, and he would eventually end up in Rimell’s yard.

The previous Irish form left nothing to be desired. He was moderate at best, and when arriving in England, work riders thought the same. But from nowhere, Rimell began to find improvement in the horse. He was working better at home and would win on the course.

The story goes that Rimell contacted the owners of the horse before the Grand National, telling them he had a really good chance of winning, and after his career had ended, Rimell told stories of his four Grand National winners, saying that Nicolaus Silver was the one he was most confident in, ahead of the race.

Nicolaus Silver’s Big Race Wins

As mentioned, when trained in Ireland, Nicolaus Silver was a pretty moderate horse with no big race wins to his name. Before heading to the Grand National, there were signs of improvement, and the biggest sign the horse gave us was a big race win in his final start before the National.

Heading to the Cheltenham Festival for his final prep run, Nicolaus Silver would win the Kim Muir, one of the biggest and toughest handicaps at the festival to win, and a big sign that this horse was on an upward curve.

Just a few weeks later, he would then win the 1961 Grand National, which would round off a very exciting and special few weeks for all connected to the horse.

After running at Aintree, he would return without success and struggled in other big races, too. Issues with blood vessels would cause more problems before the horse was eventually retired, with no further big race wins.

Full Results

Year Result Prize Money Handicap Jockey Trainer
1963 10 - 11-00 Bobby Beasley Thomas Frederic Rimell
1962 7 - 10-10 Bobby Beasley Thomas Frederic Rimell
1961 1 £18270 2s 6d 10-1 Bobby Beasley Thomas Frederic Rimell