Not to be confused with the winner of the Badminton Horse Trials in 2017, the titular Nereo refers to the horse bred by Beltran de Osorio y Diez de Rivera, otherwise known as the Duke of Alburquerque. In the mid-1970s, the “Iron” Duke, as he was dubbed by the British press, became a household name in Britain thanks to his unsuccessful attempts to win the Grand National on Nereo.

Inspired, as an eight-year-old boy, by a newsreel of the 1928 Grand National, the Duke had tried, and failed, to complete the National course on Brown Jack III, in 1952, Jonjo, in 1963, Groomsman, in 1965, and L’Empereur, 1966. In so doing, though, he had collected a total of 22 fractures, including cracked vertebrae and a broken leg.

After a seven-year sabbatical, during which he “didn’t have the horses for the race”, he returned to Aintree for his first attempt aboard the 7-year-old Nereo, trained by his “very good friend” Fred Winter. The Duke, now 53, rode a more patient race and steered a wider course than had been the case in the past but, having broken a stirrup leather at the third fence, parted company with Nereo at the Canal Turn on the first circuit.

The partnership was back for the 1974 Grand National, the Duke riding in a plaster cast after breaking his collarbone in a fall at Newbury a week earlier. Remarkably, for the first time, they completed the course, albeit finishing eighth of eight finishers. The Duke later recalled, “Fred [Winter] was furious that I was riding in the race and his instructions were monosyllabic. Ironically, it was my best performance in the National, when I was in the worst condition. The poor animal had to do everything on his own. He didn’t have a jockey on board, but a sack of potatoes.”

Having missed the 1975 National with multiple compound fracture of his right leg, the Duke rode Nereo for the third and final time in the 1976 renewal. Nereo fell at the thirteenth and the Duke was trampled by other horses, sustaining multiple fractures, severe concussion and spending two days in a coma. In typical style, the Duke recalled, “I spent most of my time there [Liverpool Walton Hosiptal] unconscious, but when I did wake up, the staff were charming.”

In 1977, at the age of 57, the Duke had his riding licence revoked “for his own safety”. Fred Winter said at the time, “I am both very sad and very relieved”.

The form book records that the 1947 Grand National was won by Caughoo, a small, unheralded 8-year-old owned by Dublin jeweller Jack McDowell, trained by his brother Herbert and ridden by Eddie Dempsey, predominantly a work rider, completely unknown outside of Ireland. His victory was, in itself, remarkable enough.

Neither horse nor jockey had previously raced in England, never mind over the National fences at Aintree but, belying his 100/1 starting price, Caughoo defeated Lough Conn and fifty-six other rivals – including such luminaries of the day as Prince Regent, Revelry and Silver Fame – by 20 lengths and further in a common canter. British Pathé News reported the end of a “grand Grand National”, but the finish of the race was just the start of a controversy that was to last for five decades or more.

The weather at Aintree on National Day was foul, with rain and thick fog reducing visibility to a few hundred yards, at best, and the going was heavy. Caughoo had won the Ulster Grand National at Downpatrick in 1945 and 1946, so was not without ability, and had been set to Aintree in the hope that a change of scenery would rekindle his enthusiasm. However, few people expected him to complete the National course at all, let alone in such a fast time.

Astonishingly, one of them, Daniel McCann, rider of the second horse home, Lough Conn, accused Eddie Dempsey of ‘lingering’ at the twelfth fence – the last fence before Melling Road – on the first circuit and rejoining the race on the second circuit, having failed to jump at least half of the thirty obstacles. A row broke out in the bar, during which Eddie Dempsey was assaulted by McCann – who subsequently served time at Her Majesty’s pleasure – and, although the court case brought by McCann was dismissed, it wasn’t until 1999, 10 years after Dempsey’s death, that evidence came to light vindicating horse and rider.

At that time, the Irish Mirror obtained photographic evidence of Caughoo jumping Becher’s Brook on two separate occasions. Peter McDowell, son of owner Jack McDowell, said at the time, “Caughoo was a good little horse and won the National fairly. We always knew that. We have pictures to prove it.”

Legend has it that, prior to winning the 1928 Grand National on 100/1 outsider Tipperary Tim, some joker told amateur jockey Mr. William Dutton that the only way his mount could win was if all his rivals fell. That may or may not be true but, either way, in a bizarre twist of fate, Tipperary Tim was the only one of the 42 runners to negotiate all of the National fences without mishap and came home a distance clear of Billy Barton, who had been remounted after falling at the final fence.

Owned by Harold Kenyon and trained by Joseph Dodd, Tipperary Tim was apparently named after Tim Crowe, a Tipperary native who was, for 15 years, Irish cross country champion.

The 1928 Grand National was run in treacherous foggy weather conditions on bottomless ground. Problems began at the eighth fence on the first circuit of the 2¼-mile course, known as the Canal Turn, which, in those days, featured a ditch before the fence itself. One of the classier horses in the field, Easter Hero – who would go on to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1929 and 1930 – stood off too far and jumped into, rather than over, the fence, causing a melee from which just seven horses emerged with their jockeys intact.

Rather than taking the fence diagonally, Mr. Dutton, a solicitor by trade, had plotted a longer, but safer, course around the outside of the Canal Turn, so Tipperary Tim was still standing. By the time the field reached the twenty-ninth, and penultimate, fence, only three horses, Great Span, Billy Barton and Tipperary Tim, in that order, were left standing. Great Span departed with a slipping saddle, leaving Billy Barton in the lead, briefly, but the new leader parted company with jockey Tommy Cullinan at the final fence, leaving Tipperary Tim to gallop on to an unlikely victory.

Coincidentally, the 1929 Grand National was also won by a 100/1 outsider, Gregalach but, since then, only three more horses at treble-figure odds – Caughoo in 1947, Foinavon in 1967 and Mon Mome in 2009 – have won the Aintree marathon.

In April, 2012, Paul Nicholls had won the National Hunt Trainers’ Championship for the last six years running but, after 52 attempts, had failed to win the highest profile race in the National Hunt calendar, the Grand National. However, on April 14 his luck changed, when Neptune Collonges, owned by John Hales and ridden by Daryl Jacob, snatched victory by the minimum margin in the final stride of the Aintree marathon.

Sent off at 33/1, despite having failed by just a neck to overhaul Giles Cross, who was receiving a stone, in the Betfred Grand National Trial on his previous start in February, Neptune Collonges made headway from mid-division heading out on the second circuit and, by the time the field reached the twenty-seventh fence, also known as “Booth”, was on the heels of the leaders. Only third jumping the last fence, he looked beaten when Sunyhillboy took the lead at the Elbow but, switched to the outside in the closing stages, bore down on his rival to win by a nose in a head-bobbing, pulsating finish. It was, in fact, the closest ever finish in the history of Grand National.

Seabass, ridden by Katie Walsh, finished third, a further 5 lengths away, having found no extra when headed at the Elbow. Nevertheless, in so doing, the gelding made Walsh, who was having her first ride in the race, the most successful female jockey in the history of the Grand National.

Neptune Collonges, for his part, became only the third grey, after The Lamb and Nicolaus Silver, to win the Aintree spectacular. His victory also secured yet another National Hunt Trainers’ Championship for Paul Nicholls, who said of him, “He got there at the right time and that’s what counts. This has been a race we haven’t had the best of luck in, but it’s great to win.” He also added, “If it hadn’t been for Denman or Kauto Star, then he’d have won a Gold Cup.”

John Hales announced the immediate retirement of the winner, as he had intimated before the race, saying simply, “He’ll never race again, that’s it.”