1918 Grand National: Results, Runners & Fallers

The 1918 Grand National was the last of three runnings to be held away from Aintree Racecourse, as the course was set up as a war office during World War I.

Gatwick Racecourse was the venue used for all three years, the 1918 race being the last time this was used, and during two of these years, including this, the race was known as the War Steeplechase.

Some people include these races in the history books, others don’t. It’s an unofficial Grand National, but that shouldn’t take away from the race.

The winner in 1918 was Poethlyn, who would win this at Gatwick, then prove he was a worthy Grand National horse by winning the 1919 Grand National, the first ran back at Aintree Racecourse.

Trainer of the winner was Harry Escott, who had previously won the Grand National in 1909 and would win it against after this a year later, giving him a total of three career Grand National wins if you include all of the races in the stats.

Ernest Piggott was the jockey on board, with the same profile, a three-time race winner if you include the races at Gatwick, and this was the second of his career too, the first for him coming in 1912.

Of course, the test of Aintree Racecourse and the fences used for the Grand National simply cannot be replicated elsewhere, no matter how hard you try. It is for this reason that some people choose to omit 1916-1918 from the records.

Results

Non Finishers