Long Shot at Aintree

Steeplechasing was developed by disappointed foxhunters who did just that. They chased steeples. If they failed to flush a fox, the rough & ready riders would set a course on a distant church spire, then set off hell-for-leather over any obstacle that got in their way. Last week's Grand National Steeplechase at Aintree was as rough & tumble as any oldtimer could wish. Only three of the starting field of 36 even finished the race.*

At post time, the co-favorites (at 8-1) were Irish Jumper Shagreen and John Hay ("Jock") Whitney's Arctic Gold, his fifth Grand National entry. But at the fifth jump (a 5-ft. fence) Shagreen tumbled. Arctic Gold, who took the lead at the sixth--treacherous Becher's Brook--came a cropper two jumps later at the

Canal Turn (where the horses must turn so sharply that they almost double back on their tracks). By the time the field straggled past the grandstand (halfway through the 4 1/2-mile race), only five horses were still in the running.

Coming up to the final jump, a 4 1/2-ft. spruce barrier, a pair of long shots, Nickel Coin (40-to-1) and Royal Tan (22-to-1), were neck & neck. Royal Tan crashed into the final hurdle, limped home across the finish line as Nickel Coin breezed to a six-length victory. A poor third: Derrinstown, who threw his rider but was remounted.

Nickel Coin turned out to be quite an investment for Owner Frank Royle, 31, a Surrey farmer. He bought her as a yearling filly eight years ago for 55 guineas ($242), sold her for $882, caught her in a selling race two years later and bought her back for $1,200. Royle, who turned her into a steeplechaser in 1948, was $23,744 richer by last week's victory.

*In 1928, from a starting field of 42, only two riders finished.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.