1838 Grand National: Results, Runners & Fallers

The 1838 Grand National was classed as the third running of the race at the time, but retrospectively, the first three races were all declared unofficial, making this the last unofficial Grand National.

It is said that the main reason for these being declared unofficial races is down to the poor running and planning of the races. In 1838, just three horses ran in the race, which was not well promoted and didn’t have much reach with people.

The winner was Sir William, who would come away and win with ease in the end, taking the race by a margin of 15 lengths. This came despite the horse falling and unseating his rider during the race.

The Duke was sent off a strong favourite after winning the first two runs of this race, but he got tired and would eventually finish third, despite being the only one not to fall, and complete cleanly.

This was the one and only time that Sir William would run in the race. He would not be back to defend his victory in the first official race, which was 12 months later.

Alan McDonough was the winning trainer this year, having his second runner in the race. A year earlier, he would train The Disowned to finish second, going close. He would have one runner in the official running of the race, which was a long time after this in 1873 when he trained Richard.

Sir William would be his only win in the contest, albeit not an official winner of the race.

As well as training the winner, Alan McDonough was also the winning rider here. He would have a lot more rides as a jockey than attempts to win as a trainer, both in the unofficial races and the official ones.

In all circumstances, though, this was the one and only victory that McDonough had as a jockey in the race. He finished second in 1837, 1840 and 1841, so with a bit more luck, he could have been one of the big early leaders in the Grand National from a jockey’s point of view.

Results

Non Finishers