1917 Grand National: Results, Runners & Fallers

The 1917 event was officially called the War Steeplechase and was run at Gatwick Racecourse. This was the second of three years where the race was run away from Aintree due to that course being used as a war office during World War I.

The name War Steeplechase was given to the race this year and the following year and, some people chose to not input these races into any Grand National figures, as the race did not offer the same kind of test to participants.

Winning the race in 1917 was Ballymacad, a horse that would only ever run in the race during the years at Gatwick Racecourse, winning on this occasion and following that up with a third in 1918.

The horse was trained by Aubery Hastings, who is no stranger to the Grand National. If we’re counting these races in the stats, then he won the race four times in total. This was the third of those, with his first Grand National win coming in 1906.

The winning rider on the day was Edmund Driscoll, and this would be the only time he tasted success in the race, at Aintree or elsewhere.

The race did bring us some drama and a real tough luck story, something we see a lot with the Grand National and something that makes this race feel like a good replica of the big event.

Limerock was clear on the run in and heading towards a win when he collapsed just yards away from the winning post, falling to the fall. This left Ballymacad alone for him to go and get the win.

There was a similar incident at Aintree in 1956 when Devon Loch did the same, something that has been replayed for many years. This was a very similar incident earlier in history.

Results

Non Finishers