Grand Annual 1864

Grand Annual

The Grand Annual Chase is the oldest race at the Festival having first been staged on 4th April 1834 over 4 miles of open country at Andoversford, near Cheltenham. Although that race was discontinued in the 1860s, it was revived in the early 1900s, although it was staged at various courses, notably Warwick, Melton Mowbray and Leicester. It was only in 1913 that it returned permanently to Cheltenham and has been a significant part of the Festival ever since. It is run over 1 mile 7 furlongs and 199 yards and 14 fences and is now classed as a Premier Handicap. In 2005 its name was updated to the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase in recognition of the part played by Johnny Henderson, father of legendary trainer Nicky Henderson, in forming the Racecourse Holdings Trust which secured the future of Cheltenham by purchasing the Prestbury Park venue for £240,000.

Early history:- The inaugural running of Grand Annual Chase took place on April 4 1834 at Andoversford, in the vicinity of Cheltenham when won by Fugleman owned by Mr R D’Oyley beating Conrad owned by Colonel Gilbert.

Grand Annual 1864			Premier Handicap	4 miles
Pos.	Horse	Jockey	Age/weight	Owner
1	JERRY	B Land jnr	11 stone 8lbs	Mr Chadwick 5/1
2	FLYFISHER	W Edwards	11 stone 6lbs	Mr Merry 6/1
3	OCEAN WITCH	C Boyce	10 stone 7lbs	Mr F Rowland 4/1
4	AGNES	Coventry	10 stone 12lbs	Captain Coventry 10/1
5	CHAMADE	George Holmes	12 stone 3lbs	Mr Adams 5/2 fav
6	SIR WILLIAM	Rich	11 stone 6lbs	Mr T Ivens 20/1
7	CREOLE	F Lotan	10 stone 13lbs	Mr S J Welfit 100/7
8	BRIDEGROOM	Wood	10 stone 7lbs	Mr T S Bygott 20/1
9	MAID OF THE VALE	Grace	10 stone 4lbs	Mr Day 20/1
10	MISS MAMA	George Stevens	10 stone 4lbs	Mr Melville 7/1
Won by 3 lengths and 4 lengths				Over round 121%
The 1864 Grand Annual was held on Thursday 28th April 1864 on Keyte farm, Southam owned by Mr Gaskin, complete with a grandstand offering a commanding view of the entire course. Although there was apathy at the start of the year about whether a meeting should be organised, sense prevailed and the committee completed the neceassry work.