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The Irish Grand National is an annual racing event which takes place at Fairyhouse Racecourse. The race was first run in 1870 for a total prize of 167 sovereigns, and the winner of this grand prize was a horse named 'Sir Robert Peele'. Two years later Scots Grey took the prize for the first time and then won again in 1875 to become the first dual winner. The race has been held every year since then, with only two exceptions ? 1919 and 1941, during the First and Second World Wars. Legendary winning horses of the Irish Grand National include Arkle in 1964, Flyingbolt in 1966, Rhyme and Reason in 1985 and Desert Orchid in 1990. The 2009 Irish Grand National was won by English raider, Niche Market, ridden by Harry Skelton and trained by Bob Buckler. The eight year old won at odds of 33/1 and finished a couple of lengths ahead of Church Island (50/1). The Irish Grand National is run over 3 miles 5 furlongs with 23 fences to be jumped.It is a handicap race for horses of five years or older and is Ireland's most prestigious steeplechase race. Steeplechasing was born in Ireland and England in the 1700s, and had gained an especially fixed following in Ireland by the mid 1800s. The word 'steeplechase' was first used officially in 1807 in the Irish Racing Calender. Steeplechasing has originated from cross country races known as pounding races, where the riders chose their own routes, with the first steeplechase being the result of a wager in 1752 between Cornelius O'Callaghan and Edmund Blake, who raced four miles (6 km) cross-country from Buttevant Church to St. Leger Church in Doneraile, in Cork, Ireland. Records of this race are to be found at Dromoland Castle in County Clare. The winner in a steeplechase race was the one who outlasted the other riders, and the orientation of the course was by reference to a church steeple ? the riders often went from churchsteeple to churchsteeple ? agreeing on an end point made for more organised racing, with less falls and injuries but to endure this kind of race the horses had to be able to cope with uneven and sometimes dangerous ground and jumps. Of course these 'everlasting' races couldn't go on forever, so a course was set up in Bedford, England in 1810, which was 3 miles with 8 fences. By the mid 1890s courses were laid out at many sites, especially in Ireland, with the Irish Grand National, the most popular race by far, being set up in 1870 at Fairyhouse. Regulation of the steeplechasing sport began in the 1860s with the Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee in Ireland and the Grand National Hunt Committee in England. The Grand National Hunt Committee changed name to the National Hunt Committee in 1889. The 2010 Powers Whiskey Irish Grand National next year will mark 140 years of Irish Grand National history. For more information on the Irish Grand National go to www.irishgrandnational.co.uk. Get the latest Irish Grand National Odds for this years race from Fairyhouse.
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