Tipperary Tim won the Grand National at Aintree, the world’s greatest steeplechase, on this day in 1928.
He was bred by John Ryan in Cashel and named after Dundrum marathon runner Tim Crowe. The jockey on the day was William Dutton and the horse was owned by Harold Kenyon of Cheshire.
Priced at 100/1, it’s fair to say that Tipperary Tim was regarded as an outsider before the race. So much so that an observer is reputed to have joked before the race that the only way 10-year-old could win the race was if all the other horses fell during the race.
Well lo and behold, forty-one out of forty-two runners fell victim to Aintree’s notorious fences and Tipperary Tim came home well ahead of Billy Barton in second place. Billy Barton fell at the last but the jockey manged to remount and finish a distant second (and last). It was the first time in nearly 100 years of the Grand National that a horse priced at 100/1 or more won the race. Indeed, it has only happened five times in the nearly 200-year history of the race.
Sources:
https://www.tipperarylive.ie/news/horse-racing/1756472/you-ll-only-win-if-others-fall-amazing-story-of-tipperary-tim-and-the-aintree-grand-national.html
https://tipperarystudies.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/MYN_2000_03_22_6.pdf
