Ok Corral Grand National Wins
Ok Corral has never won the Grand National.
They have never finished the race.
It is probably fair to say we didn’t see anywhere near enough of OK Corral, which will leave racing fans wondering what could have been with him. A number of small injuries and issues kept him off the track for longer than needed during breaks, but despite that, he did still end up with a good winning record.
Foaled in 2010, the horse ended with six career wins, coming from just 15 starts, which is an impressive win percentage. Trained by Nicky Henderson and owned by JP McManus, the horse would win twice at Listed level and place second in the Cheltenham Festival at Grade One level.
Full Results
| Year | Result | Prize Money | Handicap | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Fence 21 - Pulled Up | - | 10-8 | Mr Derek O’Connor | Nicky Henderson |
OK Corral’s Early Years
When beginning his career, OK Corral went straight to the UK and the Nicky Henderson yard rather than going down the traditional point-to-point racing route for many bred in Ireland. February 2015 was the date of his debut, and it would be a winning one, landing a national hunt flat race at Kempton by just over two lengths.
He was clearly well thought of, as he would then be sent across the Irish Sea to the Punchestown Festival in April, where he would run in a bumper there and finish second behind Yorkhill. He would then miss just over two years due to injury, the first setback of his career, so his hurdling debut did not come until May 2017.
That would be his second victory, and by taking the Kempton novice hurdle by 12 lengths, he would certainly catch the eye. Another break came, though, this time keeping him off until the start of 2018, a second-placed finish followed by another win would lead him to the Cheltenham Festival.
Here he would run a great race, finishing second in the Grade One Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle, and that was followed up by finishing fifth in the Seton Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree a month later, another Grade One race.
After another enforced break, chasing would be next, and again, just like in national hunt flat races and hurdles, he would also win his chasing debut, winning at Plumpton by just over two lengths. This would be where he would remain as a horse, chasing and going over longer distances.
OK Corral’s Big Race Wins
OK Corral won a total of six races during his relatively short racing career with a strong win percentage. He ran in some good contests but only won as high as Listed level and would win two races in that grade.
The first of those was a novice chase, the second race he ran over fences. This was a novice listed chase at Warwick in January 2019, a race he won in impressive fashion by six lengths.
The second big race win of OK Corral came 12 months later, in January 2020, this time, it was a listed handicap, but a big well known one. The race he won was the SkyBet Chase at Doncaster, holding on to win by half a length, showing that the horse could compete at the highest handicap level against some of the best.
After this, OK Corral wouldn’t be able to run again until March 2021, which stopped all momentum, and on his return, we didn’t see the best of this horse. He would run at the Cheltenham Festival, getting pulled up, and then went to the Grand National in April and was also pulled up.
This would bring an end to his career, ending on a down note, but also leaving fans wondering what may have been for this horse had he been able to stay healthy for his career.