One For Arthur Grand National Wins
- 2017 - ridden by Derek Fox trained by Lucinda Russell
One For Arthur will be remembered fondly by racing fans for winning the Grand National, but there is certainly another side to that. The race caused an injury to him, which led him to miss the entire 2017/18 season, when he was in his peak and aiming to land back to back Grand Nationals. Fondly remembered but robbed of the chance to become one of the all-time greats, is perhaps a good way of describing this horse.
Trained by Lucinda Russell in Scotland, he became the second Scottish trained winner of the race when he won in 2017.
Foaled on February 24, 2009, the gelding won the race as an eight-year-old and raced on until he was 11. He ran in the Grand National once again in 2019, finishing 6th behind Tiger Roll that year, and outrunning expectations.
Full Results
| Year | Result | Prize Money | Handicap | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 6 | £30,000 | 11-00 | Derek Fox | Lucinda Russell |
| 2017 | 1 | £561,300 | 10-11 | Derek Fox | Lucinda Russell |
A Scottish Hero In Racing
With a small number of tracks, trainers and jockeys, Scotland can sometimes get a little lost in the world of horse racing. If we ever needed reminding of their place, they certainly gave us one in 2017. Trained by a hugely popular figure in Lucinda Russell, ridden by Derek Fox, One For Arthur put Scotland back on the map, and gave the locals something to shout about.
The horse also had likeable owners too, another big positive and reason why he was popular with the public. The Two Golf Widows partnership was formed by two ladies, Deborah Thompson and Belinda McClung, and as their name suggests, both were left behind as their men went off to play golf most weekends.
They decided to spend some money on a hobby they could enjoy together without the men, bought One For Arthur, and as the saying goes, the rest is history. Seven wins to his name and over £600,000 in prize money gave them a strong return for the £60,000 they spent buying the horse.
One For Arthur’s Early Years
One For Arthur went through the sales ring a total of three times, increasing in value with each trip to the sales barn. He began by going as a yearling and was sold for €14,000 at this stage. Two years later, he returned to the sales ring as a three-year-old, this time able to show off his physique to prospective buyers, and he went through the ring for €34,000.
A year later, and he was back at the Brightwells Cheltenham December Sale, and went through the sales ring for the final time, with Lucinda Russell paying £60,000 to take the horse home, and passing him onto his owners.
He ran in five point-to-point races, winning one of them, failed to win a national hunt flat race and then won three of seven hurdle starts, all of which came in a row, and showed that he certainly had a bit of potential.
Over fences is where he really made his mark though, winning his chase debut at Kelso, adding another victory at the Borders course, and then going on to win the Classic Chase at Warwick, and of course, the 2017 Grand National.
One For Arthur’s Big Race Wins Up Until 2022
One For Arthur managed to pick up two big race wins during his time on the course. The first was the Classic Chase at Warwick, which he won in preparation for the Grand National. The 3m5f contest is a grade 3 handicap and had a competitive field in 2017. However, One For Arthur demolished the opposition, winning the race by six lengths and really putting his Grand National credentials out there for all to see.
84 days later and he was at Aintree racecourse winning the biggest prize in racing, the Grand National. He jumped beautifully all the way around, giving Derek Fox a great spin over the big fences. Held up, to begin with, he was brought into the race by Fox on the second circuit and jumped into the lead over the final fence. Up the run in, One For Arthur stayed on all the way to the line, to eventually win by a margin of four and a half lengths.
Fox was injured and in danger of missing the ride at one point, after breaking his wrist and dislocating his collarbone in a fall on March 9th. However, he recovered in time and gave the horse a wonderful ride around Aintree to bring home the big prize.