The Grand Sefton Chase

The Grand Sefton Chase is the newest addition of the five races run each season over the National course. First of all it should be said that this is was not the resurrection of the olf Grand Sefton which had been a key National trial and the highlight of the old autumn meeting that had last been staged in 1965. The Becher Chase is the natural succesor of the old Grand Sefton while this race run as it was for the first years of its new life on the undercard to the Becher Chase was hard to defne. Not so much a National trial as those that were to feature in the classic come April would be more likely to line p on the Becher. As the stas below show the odd National bound runner did find himself lining up in this but ......FOr it's first two runnings it was part of a brief return to the Becher meeting as a two day format and was the highlight of a three race Anglo-Irish Jockeys chalenge which was all a bit poinless really and eant that for those first two runnings the jockeys sported either red or green breeches depending on which team they were. From 2005 -until the meeting was moved to the first wekend in Decber it was staged before the Becher Chase and provided racegoer with the oby day of the year where two races were staged over the National course on the same card. When it was first mived it became the final race onthe card and for this part of its history it was probably the most intersting final race on any card staged in the UK  - no dashing off to get the train or collect your car when there was a race over the National fences to enjuoy.Whilst there was part of me sorry to see the race moved by doing so the race has come out of the shadfows of the Becher Chase and now horses can have an oipportnuity of running in both races. The first winner MacTottie did run in the Becher Chase a month later although he unseated at the Chair. It fits nicely now into Aintree autumn calender which now sees a Sunday in Ocrober where the Mildamy course takes centre stage, te Grand Sefton on the second saturday in November and the Becher Chase in December.