The 1972 Grand National was won by Well To Do, and it was a success for Captain Tim Forster. He owned and trained the winner, and while we didn’t know it at the time, we were seeing the first victory for a man who would go on to become a Grand National legend.
The win of Well To Do was the first of three winners in the race for Forster, who added success in 1980 and 1985 to his tally.
Graham Thorner, the jockey on the day, rode his one and only winner in the race from eight attempts during his career.
Well To Do Holds Off 1970 Winner Gay Trip
Coming for home, it looked like Gay Trip was going to land his second Grand National success at the elbow, with Well To Do in the lead, but tiring.
However, he found a second win on the run for home and kept doing enough to repel his challenger, eventually coming away with ease to land the race.
Conditions were soft, officially described as good to soft, and that didn’t help some of the field get the distance home. Just nine runners would finish the race, and after the first four home, the rest came in at big intervals, very tired.
Forster Inherits Well To Do in Will of Deceased Owner
The story of Well To Do goes a lot deeper than just being a Grand National winner.
He was initially bought as a three-year-old for Heather Summer, one of the biggest owners in the Tim Forster yard and someone who had quite a few horses.
Unfortunately, Summer died of cancer while the horse was still a youngster. In her will, she left instructions that Forster could take on one of the three runners she had in his yard as his own to become the owner and trainer.
Well To Do was her favourite horse, so Forster chose this one, in a bid to keep the horse, target some big races and do her proud, which he certainly did.
Fast-forward to the Grand National and Forster would have success with Well To Do. At the same time, he became the first person to own and train a Grand National winner after taking on the horse’s ownership.
Backed from 33/1 into 14/1 a day before the race, there was plenty of stable confidence and the horse delivered in style.
Results
| Result | Horse | Starting Price | Age | Handicap | Prize Money | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Well To Do | 14/1 | 9 | 10-1 | £25,786 | Graham Thorner | Tim A Forster |
| 2 | Gay Trip | 12/1 | 10 | 11-9 | £7,824 | Terry Biddlecombe | Thomas Frederic Rimell |
| 3 | General Symons | 40/1 | 9 | 10-00 | £1,844 | Pat Kiely | J F Tormey |
| 3 | Black Secret | 14/1 | 8 | 11-2 | £3,837 | Sean Barker | Jim Dreaper |
| 5 | Astbury | 25/1 | 9 | 10-00 | - | Jimmy Bourke | John Philip Bissill |
| 6 | Specify | 22/1 | 10 | 10-11 | - | Barry Brogan | John E Sutcliffe |
| 7 | Bright Willow | 28/1 | 11 | 10-1 | - | Bill Smith | G Cure |
| 8 | Money Boat | 16/1 | 8 | 10-3 | - | Frank Berry | Francis Flood |
| 9 | Rough Silk | 25/1 | 9 | 10-6 | - | David Nicholson | Francis Cundell |
Non Finishers
