Red Rum won his first Grand National in 1973 in his big-race debut, at eight years of age. He won this race by three quarters of a length and the following year he became the first horse since Reynoldstown (1936) to carry a 12 stone weight top victory and score back to back wins. He came second place in the Grand National in the following two years and then won an unprecedented treble at 12 years old – winning by an unheard of 25 lengths!
To put this in some kind of context – in five years Red Rum ran Grand Nationals, clearing 150 fences with never so much as a stumble. This is all pretty spectacular stuff but gets even more so when you realise that Red Rum was sired by a top-class miler (Quorum) out of a so-called ‘mad mare’ (Mared). Red Rum’s name came from the last three letters of the names of his dam and sire, and he was bought for a mere 400 guineas in yearling sales. He went on to fail to win any of his 14 races in the 1969 – 1970 season and was sold as a cast off in the Doncaster sales after suffering from pedalostitis bone disease. Not a good start to life you might say!
Fortunately for Red Rum he was bought by a former taxi-driver Donald ‘Ginger’ McCain; on behalf of Noel Le Mare; with whom he would develop into a living legend. McCain didn’t buy Red Rum in the Doncaster sales due to lack of funds but five years later he bought the gelding for 6,000 guineas. Another catastrophe struck for Red Rum two days later, when he was exercised for the first time on Southport’s sands – much to McCains horror his purchase showed clear signs of lameness! However a miracle occurred on getting him back on the beach – his lameness disappeared and Red Rum benefitted from daily walks in the brine, and never again exhibited lameness, apart from one time after his Grand National win.
Red Rum made magnificent progress under McCain and on the build-up for the 1973 Grand National, he finished third, second and fourth in races – on unfavourable soft ground. The omens were good for Aintree!
After winning the Grand National three times, it was predicted that he would win it a fourth, but on the eve of the race he was found to have a hairline fracture of a small foot bone and could therefore never be put on a racecourse again. Red Rum’s three victories made him a legend, and he travelled the length of the country making public appearances and was so famous that a Japanese-American businessman offered one million dollars to buy him to promote the opening of his restaurants. The offer was rejected, but Red Rum appeared on TV shows, was guest of honour at the switching-on of the Blackpool illuminations and was immortalised at Aintree by a bronze statue. To mark Red Rums 30th birthday a special meeting was staged in his honour at Aintree where he posed for photos and ate birthday cake! Five months later his heart began to fail so McCain and millions of fans had to bid a fond farewell to the most legendary horse ever known.
