The Grand National (also known simply as the National) is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap steeplechase run over a distance of 4 miles and 4 furlongs (7,242 m), with horses jumping 30 fences over two circuits of Aintree's ''National Course''. The race has been held at Aintree each year since 1839, with the exception of 1916–1918 during the First World War when it was held at Gatwick Racecourse, 1941–1945 during the Second World War when it was called off, and in 1993 when the race was declared void owing to a false start. The next Grand National will be held on 6 April 2013.

The steeplechase is the centrepiece of a three-day meeting, one of only four run at Aintree in the racing season. It is the most valuable National Hunt event in Britain, offering a total prize fund of £975,000 in 2012. The race is popular amongst many people who do not normally watch or bet on horse racing at other times of the year.

The racecourse is triangular in shape and contains sixteen fences, all except The Chair and the Water Jump are jumped twice. The course has a reputation as the ultimate test of horse and jockey, most starters failing to complete the two circuits. Certain fences are famous for their severity, notably Becher's Brook, The Chair, and the Canal Turn.

The National is listed on the Ofcom Code on Sports and Other Listed and Designated Events, ensuring it is broadcast live on free-to-air terrestrial television in the United Kingdom. The first radio commentary of the race was broadcast by Meyrick Good and George Allison on the BBC in 1927; the first televised coverage was in 1960 with commentary led by Peter O'Sullevan. The BBC retained the broadcasting rights until 2012, when it was announced that Channel 4 had won a four-year deal to broadcast the race from 2013, bringing to an end the BBC's rights to the National after 52 years. An estimated 500 to 600 million viewers watch the Grand National in over 140 countries.

The most recent Grand National took place on 14 April 2012 and was won by Neptune Collonges, ridden by jockey Daryl Jacob for trainer Paul Nicholls and owner John Hales.

History

Founding and early Nationals (1829–1850)

The Grand National was founded by William Lynn, a syndicate head and proprietor of the Waterloo Hotel, on land he leased in Aintree from William Molyneux, 2nd Earl of Sefton. Lynn set out a course, built a grandstand, and Lord Sefton laid the foundation stone on 7 February 1829. There is much debate regarding the first official Grand National; most leading published historians, including John Pinfold, now prefer the idea that the first running was in 1836 and was won by The Duke. This same horse won again in 1837, while Sir William was the winner in 1838. These races have long been disregarded because of the belief that they took place at Maghull and not Aintree. However, some historians have unearthed evidence in recent years that suggest those three races were run over the same course at Aintree and were regarded as having been Grand Nationals up until the mid-1860s. To date, though, calls for the Nationals of 1836–1838 to be restored to the record books have been unsuccessful.

In 1838 and 1839 three significant events occurred to transform the Liverpool race from a small local affair to a national event. Firstly, the Great St. Albans Chase, which had clashed with the steeplechase at Aintree, was not renewed after 1838, leaving a major hole in the chasing calendar. Secondly, the railway arrived in Liverpool, enabling transport to the course by rail for the first time. Finally, a committee was formed to better organise the event. These factors led to a more highly-publicised race in 1839 which attracted a larger field of top quality horses and riders, greater press coverage and an increased attendance on race day. Over time the first three runnings of the event were quickly forgotten to secure the 1839 race its place in history as the first official Grand National. It was won by rider Jem Mason on 5/1 favourite Lottery.

By the 1840s, Lynn's ill-health blunted his enthusiasm for Aintree. Edward Topham, a respected handicapper and prominent member of Lynn's syndicate, began to exert greater influence over the National. He turned the chase into a handicap in 1843 after it had been a weight-for-age race for the first four years, and took over the land lease in 1848. One century later, the Topham family bought the course outright.

War National Steeplechase (1916–1918)

For three years during the First World War, while Aintree Racecourse was closed, an alternative race was run at Gatwick Racecourse, a disused course on land now occupied by Gatwick Airport. The first of these races, in 1916, was called the ''Racecourse Association Steeplechase'', and for the following two years the race was known as the ''War National Steeplechase''. The races at Gatwick are not always recognised as "Grand Nationals" and their results are often omitted from winners' lists.

Tipperary Tim (1928)

On the day of the 1928 National, before the race had begun, Tipperary Tim's jockey William Dutton heard a friend call out to him: "Billy boy, you'll only win if all the others fall down!" These words turned out to be true, as 41 of the 42 starters fell during the race. This year's National was run during misty weather conditions with the going very heavy. As the field approached the Canal Turn on the first circuit, Easter Hero fell, causing a pile-up from which only seven horses emerged with seated jockeys. By the penultimate fence this number had reduced to three, with Great Span looking most likely to win ahead of Billy Barton and Tipperary Tim. Great Span's saddle then slipped, leaving Billy Barton in the lead until he too then fell. Although Billy Barton's jockey Tommy Cullinan managed to remount and complete the race, it was Tipperary Tim who came in first at outside odds of 100/1. With only two riders completing the course, this remains a record for the fewest number of finishers.

1950s

During the 1950s the Grand National was dominated by Vincent O'Brien, who trained different winners of the race for three consecutive years between 1953 and 1955. Early Mist secured O'Brien's first victory in 1953; Royal Tan won in 1954, and Quare Times completed the Irish trainer's hat-trick in 1955.

The running of the 1956 Grand National witnessed one of its more bizarre incidents. Devon Loch, owned by HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, had cleared the final fence in leading position five lengths clear of ESB. Only 40 yards from what seemed like certain victory, the horse suddenly half-jumped into the air before collapsing in a belly-flop on the turf. Despite efforts by jockey Dick Francis, Devon Loch was unable to complete the race, leaving ESB to cross the finishing line first. Responding to the commiserations of ESB’s owner, the Queen Mother merely commented: "Oh, that's racing". Had Devon Loch completed the race he may have set a new record for fastest finishing time, which ESB missed by only four fifths of a second. Many explanations have been offered for Devon Loch’s behaviour, but the incident remains inexplicable. In modern language, ‘to do a Devon Loch’, is used to describe a last minute failure to achieve an expected victory.

Foinavon (1967)

The 1967 Grand National saw one of the race's most remarkable incidents when most of the field were hampered or dismounted in a mêlée, allowing the rank outsider Foinavon to become a surprise winner at odds of 100/1. At the 23rd fence a loose horse named Popham Down, who had unseated his rider at the first jump, suddenly veered across the leading group causing them to either stop, refuse or unseat their riders. Racing journalist Lord Oaksey described the resulting pile-up by saying that Popham Down had "cut down the leaders like a row of thistles". Some horses even started running in the wrong direction, back the way they had come. Foinavon, whose owner had such little faith in him that he had travelled to Worcester that day instead, had been lagging some one hundred yards behind the leading pack, giving his jockey, John Buckingham, time to steer his mount wide of the havoc and make a clean jump of the fence on the outside. Although 17 jockeys remounted and some made up considerable ground, particularly Josh Gifford on 15/2 favourite Honey End, none had time to catch Foinavon before he crossed the finishing line. The 7th/23rd fence has since been officially named Foinavon's fence.

1970s and Red Rum

The 1970s were mixed years for the Grand National. In 1973, eight years after Mrs. Mirabel Topham announced she was seeking a buyer, the racecourse was finally sold to property developer Bill Davies. Davies tripled the admission prices; consequently, the attendance at the 1975 race, won by L'Escargot, was the smallest in living memory. It was after this that bookmaker Ladbrokes made an offer, signing an agreement with Davies allowing them to manage the Grand National.

During this period Red Rum was breaking records to become the most successful racehorse in Grand National history. Originally bought as a yearling in 1966 for 400 guineas (£420), he passed through various training yards before being bought for 6,000 guineas (£6,300) by Donald ‘Ginger’ McCain on behalf of Noel Le Mare. Two days after the purchase while trotting the horse on Southport beach, McCain noticed that Red Rum appeared lame. The horse was suffering from pedal osteitis, an inflammatory bone disorder. McCain had witnessed many lame carthorses reconditioned by being galloped in sea water. He successfully used this treatment on his newly acquired racehorse.

Red Rum became, and remains, the only horse to win the steeplechase three times, in 1973, 1974, and 1977. He also finished second in the two intervening years, 1975 and 1976. In 1973, he was in second place at the last fence, 15 lengths behind champion horse Crisp, who was carrying 23 lbs more. Red Rum made up the ground on the run-in and, two strides from the finishing post, he pipped the tiring Crisp to win by three-quarters of a length in what is arguably the most memorable Grand National of all time. Finishing in 9 minutes 1·9 seconds, Red Rum broke the record for fastest completion time of the National which had previously stood since 1934 by Golden Miller. His record was to stand for the next sixteen years.

Bob Champion's National (1981)

The 1981 running produced arguably the most emotive and absorbing result in the race's history. Two years prior, jockey Bob Champion had been diagnosed with testicular cancer and given only months to live by doctors. But he was passed fit to ride in the 1981 Grand National and paired with Aldaniti, a horse deprived in his youth and who had only recently recovered from chronic leg problems. Despite a poor start, the pair went on to win four-and-a-half lengths ahead of much-fancied Spartan Missile, ridden by amateur jockey and 54-year-old grandfather, John Thorne. Champion and Aldaniti were instantly propelled to celebrity status, and within two years their story had been re-created in the film ''Champions'', starring John Hurt.

Seagram's sponsorship (1984–1991)

From 1984 to 1991, Seagram sponsored the Grand National. The Canadian distiller provided a solid foundation on which the race's revival could be built, firstly enabling the course to be bought from Davies and to be run and managed by the Jockey Club. It is said that Ivan Straker, Seagram's UK chairman, became interested in the potential opportunity after reading a passionate newspaper article written by journalist Lord Oaksey, who, in his riding days, had come within three-quarters of a length of winning the 1963 National. The last Seagram-sponsored Grand National was in 1991. Coincidentally, the race was won by a horse named Seagram. Martell, then a Seagram subsidiary, took over sponsorship of the Aintree meeting for an initial seven years from 1992, in a £4 million deal.

The race that never was (1993)

The result of the 1993 Grand National was declared void after what commentator Peter O'Sullevan called "the greatest disaster in the history of the Grand National." While under starter's orders a series of incidents occurred which resulted in one jockey being tangled in the starting tape which had failed to rise correctly. A false start was declared, but lack of communication between course officials meant that 30 out of the 39 jockeys did not realise and began to race. Course officials tried to stop the runners by waving red flags, but many jockeys thought that they were protesters (some had invaded the course earlier) and so continued to race. Peter Scudamore only stopped because he saw his trainer, Martin Pipe, waving frantically at him. Seven horses ran the course in its entirety, forcing a void result. The first past the post of the horses that completed was Esha Ness (in the second-fastest time ever), ridden by John White and trained by Jenny Pitman.

The Monday National (1997)

The 1997 Grand National was postponed after two coded bomb threats were received from the Provisional Irish Republican Army. The course was secured by police who then evacuated jockeys, race personnel and local residents along with 60,000 spectators. Cars and coaches were locked in the course grounds, leaving some 20,000 people without their vehicles over the weekend. With limited accommodation available in the city, local residents opened their doors and took in many of those stranded. This prompted tabloid headlines such as "''We'll fight them on the Becher's''", in reference to Winston Churchill's famous war-time speech. The race was run 48 hours later on the Monday, with the meeting organisers offering 20,000 tickets with free admission.

Recent history (2004–present)

Red Rum's trainer Ginger McCain returned to the Grand National in 2004, 31 years after Red Rum's epic run-in defeat of Crisp to secure his first of three wins. McCain's Amberleigh House came home first, ridden by Graham Lee, overtaking Clan Royal on the final straight. Hedgehunter, who would go on to win in 2005, fell at the last while leading. McCain had equalled George Dockeray and Fred Rimell's record feat of training four Grand National winners.

A new era in the race's modern history began in 2005 when John Smith's took over from Martell as main sponsors of the Grand National and many of the other races at the three-day Aintree meeting for the first time. In 2006 John Smith's launched the John Smith's People's Race which gave ten members of the public the chance to ride in a flat race at Aintree on Grand National day. In total, thirty members of the public took part in the event before it was discontinued in 2010.

In 2009, Mon Mome became the longest-priced winner of the National for 42 years when he defied outside odds of 100/1 to win by 12 lengths. The victory was also the first for trainer Venetia Williams, the first female trainer to triumph since Jenny Pitman in 1995. The race was also the first National ride for Liam Treadwell.

In 2010 the National became the first horse race to be televised in high-definition in the UK.

The course

The Grand National is run over the ''National Course'' at Aintree and consists of two circuits of sixteen fences, the first fourteen of which are jumped twice. Participating horses cover a distance of four miles and four furlongs, the longest of any National Hunt race in Britain. The course is also notable for having one of the longest run-ins from the final fence of any steeplechase, at 494 yards. The Grand National was designed as a cross-country steeplechase when it was first officially run in 1839. The runners started at a lane on the edge of the racecourse and raced away from the course out over open countryside towards the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The gates, hedges and ditches that they met along the way were flagged to provide them with the obstacles to be jumped along the way with posts and rails erected at the two points where the runners jumped a brook. The runners returned towards the racecourse by running along the edge of the canal before re-entering the course at the opposite end. The runners then ran the length of the racecourse before embarking on a second circuit before finishing in front of the stands. The majority of the race therefore took place not on the actual Aintree Racecourse but instead in the adjoining countryside. That countryside was incorporated into the modern course but commentators still often refer to it as "the country", much to the confusion of millions of once-a-year racing viewers.

Fences

There are sixteen fences on the ''National Course'' topped with spruce from the Lake District. Some carry names from the history of the race. All sixteen are jumped on the first circuit, but on the second circuit the runners bear to the right onto the run-in for home, avoiding The Chair and the Water Jump. The following is a summary of all sixteen fences on the course:

;Fence 1 & 17 Height: 4 ft 6in Often met at great speed, which can lead to several falls, the highest being 12 runners in 1951. The drop on the landing side was reduced after the 2011 Grand National. ;Fence 2 & 18 Height: 4 ft 7in Prior to 1888 the first two fences were located approximately halfway between the first to second and second to third jumps. The second became known as The Fan, after a mare who refused the obstacle three years in succession. The name fell out of favour with the relocation of the fences. ;Fence 3 & 19 – open ditch Height: 4 ft 10in; fronted by a 6 ft ditch The first big test in the race as horses are still adapting to the obstacles. ;Fence 4 & 20 Height: 4 ft 10in A testing obstacle that often leads to falls and unseated riders. In 2011 the 20th became the first fence in Grand National history to be bypassed on the second circuit, following an equine fatality. ;Fence 5 & 21 Height: 5 ft A plain obstacle which precedes the most famous fence on the course. It was bypassed on the second circuit for the first time in 2012 so that medics could treat a jockey who fell from his mount on the first circuit and broke a leg. ;Fence 6 & 22 – Becher's Brook Height: 5 ft, with the landing side 6in to 10in lower than the takeoff side The drop at this fence often catches runners by surprise. Becher's has always been a popular vantage point as it can present one of the most spectacular displays of jumping when the horse and rider meet the fence right. Jockeys must sit back in their saddles and use their body weight as ballast to counter the steep drop. It takes its name from Captain Martin Becher who fell there in the first Grand National and took shelter in the small brook running along the landing side of the fence while the remainder of the field thundered over. It is said that Becher later reflected: "Water tastes disgusting without the benefits of whisky." It was bypassed in 2011 along with fence 20 after an equine casualty. ;Fence 7 & 23 – Foinavon Height: 4 ft 6in One of the smallest on the course, it was named in 1984 after the 1967 winner who avoided a mêlée at the fence to go on and win the race at outside odds of 100/1. ;Fence 8 & 24 – Canal Turn Height: 5 ft Noted for its sharp 90-degree left turn immediately after landing. Before the First World War it was not uncommon for loose horses to continue straight ahead after the jump and end up in the Leeds and Liverpool Canal itself. There was once a ditch before the fence but this was filled in after a mêlée in the 1928 race. ;Fence 9 & 25 – Valentine's Brook Height: 5 ft with a 5 ft 6in brook The fence was originally known as the Second Brook but was renamed after a horse named Valentine was reputed to have jumped the fence hind legs first in 1840. A grandstand was erected alongside the fence in the early part of the 20th century but fell into decline after the Second World War and was torn down in the 1970s. ;Fence 10 & 26 Height: 5 ft A plain obstacle that leads the runners alongside the canal towards two ditches. ;Fence 11 & 27 – open ditch Height: 5 ft, with a 6 ft ditch on the takeoff side ;Fence 12 & 28 – ditch Height: 5 ft, with a 5 ft 6in ditch on the landing side

The runners then cross the Melling Road near to the Anchor Bridge, a popular vantage point since the earliest days of the race. This also marks the point where the runners are said to be re-entering the "racecourse proper". In the early days of the race it was thought there was an obstacle near this point known as the Table Jump, which may have resembled a bank similar to those still seen at Punchestown in Ireland. In the 1840s the Melling Road was also flanked by hedges and the runners had to jump into the road and then back out of it.

;Fence 13 & 29 Height: 4 ft 7in A plain obstacle that comes at a point when the runners are usually in a good rhythm and thus rarely causes problems. ;Fence 14 & 30 Height: 4 ft 6in The final fence on the second circuit and which has often seen very tired horses fall. Despite some tired runners falling at the 30th and appearing injured, no equine fatality has been recorded at the 30th fence to date.

On the first circuit of the race, runners continue around the course to negotiate two fences which are only jumped once:

;Fence 15 – The Chair Height: 5 ft 2in, preceded by a 6 ft wide ditch This fence is the site of the only human fatality in the National's history, Joe Wynne who sustained injuries in a fall in 1862. This brought about the ditch on the take-off side of the fence in an effort to slow the horses on approach. The fence was the location where a distance judge sat in the earliest days of the race. On the second circuit he would record the finishing order from his position and declare any horse that had not passed him before the previous runner passed the finishing post as "distanced", meaning a non-finisher. The practise was done away with in the 1850s but the monument where the chair stood is still there. The ground on the landing side is six inches higher than on the takeoff side, creating the opposite effect of the drop at Becher's. The fence was originally known as the Monument Jump but The Chair came into more regular use in the 1930s. Today it is one of the most popular jumps on the course for spectators.

;Fence 16 – Water Jump Height: 2 ft 6in Originally a stone wall in the very early Nationals. The Water Jump was one of the most popular jumps on the course, presenting a great jumping spectacle for those in the stands and was always a major feature in the newsreels' coverage of the race. As the newsreels made way for television in the 1960s so in turn did the Water Jump fall under the shadow of its neighbour, The Chair, in popularity as an obstacle.

On the second circuit, after the 30th fence the remaining runners bear right, avoiding The Chair and Water Jump, to head onto a "run-in" to the finishing post. The run-in is not perfectly straight: an "elbow" requires jockeys to make a slight right before finding themselves truly on the home straight. It is on this run-in — the longest in the United Kingdom at 494 yards — that many potential winners have been snatched of victory, such as Devon Loch in 1956,Crisp in 1973 and Sunnyhillboy in 2012.

Records

Leading horse: Red Rum – 3 wins (''1973, 1974, 1977, also second in 1975 and 1976)'' ---- Leading jockey: George Stevens – 5 wins (''Freetrader (1856), Emblem (1863), Emblematic (1864), The Colonel (1869, 1870)'') ---- Leading trainers:

George Dockeray – 4 wins (''Lottery (1839), Jerry (1840), Gaylad (1842), Miss Mowbray (1852)'')

Fred Rimell – 4 wins (''ESB (1956), Nicolaus Silver (1961), Gay Trip (1970), Rag Trade (1976)'') Ginger McCain – 4 wins (''Red Rum (1973, 1974, 1977), Amberleigh House (2004)'') ---- Leading owners:

James Machell – 3 wins (''Disturbance (1873), Reugny (1874), Regal (1876)'')

Noel Le Mare – 3 wins (''Red Rum (1973, 1974, 1977)'')

---- Fastest winning time: Mr. Frisk (1990), 8 minutes 47.8 seconds Oldest winning horse: Peter Simple (1853); aged 15 Youngest winning horse: Alcibiade (1865), Regal (1876), Austerlitz (1877), Empress (1880), Lutteur III (1909); all aged five

Oldest winning jockey: Dick Saunders (1982); aged 48

Youngest winning jockey: Bruce Hobbs (1938), aged 17 Longest odds winner: Tipperary Tim (1928), Gregalach (1929), Caughoo (1947), Foinavon (1967), Mon Mome (2009); all 100/1 Shortest odds winner: Poethlyn (1919), 11/4 Largest field: 66 runners (1929) Smallest field: 10 runners (1883) Most horses to finish: 23 (1984) Fewest horses to finish: 2 (1928)

Most rides in the race: 19 (Tom Olliver, 1839–1859)

Most rides without winning: 15 (Jeff King, 1964–1980)

Winners

The following table lists the winners of the last ten Grand Nationals:

{| class = "sortable wikitable" style="font-size:90%" |- bgcolor="#77dd77" align="center" | Year | Horse | Age | Handicap | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | SP |- | 2012 | Neptune Collonges | 11 | 11-06 | Daryl Jacob | Paul Nicholls | John Hales | |- | 2011 | Ballabriggs | 10 | 11-00 | Jason Maguire | Donald McCain, Jr. | Trevor Hemmings | |- | 2010 | Don't Push It | 10 | 11–05 | Tony McCoy | Jonjo O'Neill | J. P. McManus | JF |- | 2009 | Mon Mome | 9 | 11-00 | Liam Treadwell | Venetia Williams | Vida Bingham | |- | 2008 | Comply or Die | 9 | 10-09 | Timmy Murphy | David Pipe | David Johnson | JF |- | 2007 | Silver Birch | 10 | 10-06 | Robbie Power | Gordon Elliott | Brian Walsh | |- | 2006 | Numbersixvalverde | 10 | 10-08 | Niall Madden | Martin Brassil | Bernard Carroll | |- | 2005 | Hedgehunter | 9 | 11-01 | Ruby Walsh | Willie Mullins | Trevor Hemmings | F |- | 2004 | Amberleigh House | 12 | 10–10 | Graham Lee | Ginger McCain | Halewood Int. Ltd | |- | 2003 | Monty's Pass | 10 | 10–07 | Barry Geraghty | Jimmy Mangan | Dee Racing Syndicate | |}

Handicap weights are in stones and pounds.

Jockeys

When the concept of the Grand National was first envisaged it was designed as a race for gentlemen riders, meaning men who were not paid to compete, and while this was written into the conditions of the early races many of the riders who weighed out for the 1839 race were professionals for hire. Throughout the Victorian era the line between the amateur and professional sportsman existed only in terms of the rider's status, and the engagement of an amateur to ride in the race was rarely considered a handicap to a contender's chances of winning. Many gentleman riders won the race prior to the First World War.

Although the number of amateurs remained high between the wars their ability to match their professional counterparts gradually receded. After the Second World War it became rare for any more than four or five amateurs to take part in any given year, despite many fine performances from amateur riders, including some victories before the turn of the century. By the 21st century, openings for amateur riders had become very rare with some years passing with no amateur riders at all taking part. Those that do in the modern era are most usually talented young riders who are often close to turning professional. In the past such amateur riders would have been joined by army officers, such as David Campbell who won in 1896, and sporting aristocrats, farmers or local huntsmen and point to point riders, who usually opted to ride their own mounts. But all these genres of rider have faded out in the last quarter of a century with no riders of military rank or aristocratic title having taken a mount since 1982.

The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 made it possible for female jockeys to enter the race. To date fourteen have done so, although mainly on outsiders with little chance of winning. The first female jockey to enter the race was Charlotte Brew on the 200/1 outsider Barony Fort in the 1977 race. The 21st century has not seen a significant increase in female riders but it has seen them gain rides on mounts considered to have a genuine chance of winning. In 2012, Nina Carberry became the first female jockey to take her fourth ride in the Grand National; she completed the course three times, her best being seventh place in 2010. In 2012, Katie Walsh completed the course on Seabass, finishing in third place — the best result yet for a female jockey.

Professionals now hold dominance in the Grand National and better training, dietary habits and protective clothing has ensured that riders' careers last much longer and offer more opportunities to ride in the race. Of the 28 riders who have enjoyed 13 or more rides in the race, 17 had their first ride in the 20th century and six of those had careers that continued into the 21st century. Longevity is no guarantee of success however as ten of the 28 never tasted the glory of winning the race. Tony McCoy had been a 11th member of this group prior to winning the race at the 15th attempt in 2010 and in the process avoiding sharing the record for the most rides without ever being victorious; that honour still being held solely by Jeff King who, in 15 attempts from 1964–1980, never bettered third place. The other nine riders who never won or have not as yet won, having had more than 12 rides in the race are:

Bill Parvin (1926–1939): finished second once in 14 attempts;

Richard Johnson (1997–2010): finished second once in 14 attempts;

Graham Bradley (1983–1999): finished second once in 14 attempts;

Chris Grant (1980–1994): finished second three times in 13 attempts;

Stan Mellor (1956–1971): finished second once in 13 attempts;

David Nicholson (1957–1973): never in first three in 13 attempts;

George Waddington (1861–1882): finished second once in 13 attempts;

Walter White (1854–1869): finished second once in 13 attempts;

Robert Thornton (1997–2009): never in first three in 13 attempts.

Many well-known jockeys have failed to win the Grand National. These include champion jockeys such as Terry Biddlecombe, John Francome, Josh Gifford, Stan Mellor, Jonjo O'Neill (who never finished the race), Fred Rimell and Peter Scudamore. More recently, Richard Johnson and Adrian Maguire have failed to win the race. Three jockeys who led over the last fence in the National but lost the race on the run-in ended up as television commentators: Lord Oaksey (on Carrickbeg in 1963), Norman Williamson (on Mely Moss in 2000), and Richard Pitman (on Crisp in 1973). Pitman's son Mark also led over the last fence, only to be pipped at the post when riding Garrison Savannah in 1991.

Horse welfare

Modern steeplechase races have an average of six horse deaths per 1,000 horses taking part; deaths in the Grand National are higher than the average steeplechase, with six deaths per 439 horses between 2000 and 2010. Due to the high number of injuries and deaths suffered by participating horses, animal rights groups have campaigned to have it further modified or even abolished. In recent years, Aintree officials have worked in conjunction with animal welfare organisations to reduce the severity of some fences and to improve veterinary facilities. In 2008 a new veterinary surgery was constructed in the stable yard which has two large treatment boxes, an X-ray unit, video endoscopy, equine solarium and sandpit facilities. Further changes in set-up and procedure allow vets to treat horses more rapidly and in better surroundings. Those requiring more specialist care can be transported by specialist horse ambulances, under police escort, to the nearby Philip Leverhulme Equine Hospital at the University of Liverpool at Leahurst. A mobile on-course X-ray machine assists in the prompt diagnosis of leg injuries when horses are pulled up, and oxygen and water are available by the final fence and finishing post.

Five vets remain mobile on the course during the running of the race, and can initiate treatment of injured fallers at the fence. Additional vets are stationed at the pull-up area, finishing post, and in the surgery.

Some of the National's most challenging fences have also been modified, while still preserving them as formidable obstacles. Becher's Brook has had its brook covered and the landing slope levelled off; the drop on the landing side of Becher's was also reduced by 4 to 5 inches after the 2011 race. Screening at the Canal Turn now prevents horses being able to see the sharp left turn and encourages jockeys to spread out along the fence, rather than take the tight left-side route. Additionally, work has been carried out to smooth the core post infrastructure of the fences with protective padding to reduce impact upon contact, and the height of the toe-boards on all fences has been increased to 14 inches. These orange-coloured boards are positioned at the base of each fence and provide a clear ground line to assist horses in determining the base of the fence.

Parts of the course were widened in 2009 to allow runners to bypass fences if required. This was utilised for the first time during the 2011 race as fatalities at fences four (a plain 4 ft 10in obstacle) and six (Becher's Brook) of the first circuit resulted in marshals diverting the remaining contenders around those fences on the second circuit. This was the first time in the National's history that not all of the 30 fences were jumped.

After the 1989 Grand National, in which two horses died in incidents at Becher's Brook, Aintree begun the most significant of its modifications to the course. The brook on the landing side of Becher's was filled in and the incline on the landing side was levelled out, whilst retaining a drop to slow the runners. Other fences have been reduced in height, and the entry requirements for the race have been made stricter. Welfare groups have suggested a reduction in the size of the field (limited to a maximum of 40 horses) should be implemented. Opponents point to previous unhappy experience with smaller fields e.g. only 29 runners at the 1954 Grand National, only 31 runners at the 1975 Grand National, and a fatality each at the 1996 Grand National and 1999 Grand National despite smaller fields, and the possible ramifications in relation to the speed of such races in addition to recent course modifications (part of the "speed kills" argument).

Some within the horseracing community, including some with notable achievements in the Grand National, such as Ginger McCain and Bob Champion, have argued that the lowering of fences and the narrowing of ditches, primarily designed to increase horse safety, has had the adverse effect by encouraging the runners to race faster. During the 1970s and 1980s (following only one fatality in the 1960s) the Grand National saw a total of 12 horses die (half of which were at Becher's Brook); in the next 20-year period from 1990 to 2010, when modifications to the course were most significant, there were 17 equine fatalities. The 2011 and 2012 races each yielded two deaths, including one each at Becher's Brook.

Grand National Legends

In 2009 the race sponsors John Smith's launched a poll to determine five personalities to be inducted into the inaugural ''Grand National Legends'' initiative. The winners were announced on the day of the 2010 Grand National and inscribed on commemorative plaques at Aintree. They were:

Ginger McCain and his record three-time winning horse Red Rum;

John Buckingham and Foinavon, the unlikely winners in 1967;

Manifesto, who holds the record for most runs in the race, eight including two victories;

Jenny Pitman, the first woman to train the winner of the race in 1983; and

Sir Peter O'Sullevan, the commentator who called home the winners of fifty Grand Nationals on radio and television from 1947 to 1997.

A panel of experts also selected three additional legends:

George Stevens, the record five-time winning rider between 1856–1870;

Captain Martin Becher, who played a major part in bringing the National to Liverpool, rode the winner of the first precursor to the National in 1836 and was the first rider to fall into the brook at the sixth fence, which forever took his name after 1839; and

Edward Topham, who was assigned the task of framing the weights for the handicap from 1847 and whose descendants played a major role in the race for the next 125 years.

In 2011, nine additional legends were added:

Bob Champion and Aldaniti, the winners of the 1981 Grand National;

West Tip, who ran in six consecutive Nationals and won once in 1986;

Richard Dunwoody, the jockey who rode West Tip and Miinnehoma to victory and who competed in 14 Grand Nationals, being placed in eight;

Brian Fletcher, a jockey who won the race three times (including Red Rum's first victory in 1973, and finished second once and third three times;

Vincent O'Brien, who trained three consecutive winners of the race in the 1950s;

Tom Olliver, who rode in nineteen Nationals, including seventeen consecutively, and won three times, as well as finishing second three times and third once;

Count Karl Kinsky, the first international winner of the race, and at his first attempt, on board the mare Zoedone in 1883;

Jack Anthony, three-time winning jockey in 1911, 1915 and 1920; and

Peter Bromley, the BBC radio commentator who covered 42 Nationals until his retirement.

John Smith's also added five "people's legends" who were introduced on Liverpool Day, the first day of the Grand National meeting. The five were:

Arthur Ferrie, who worked as a groundsman during the 1970s and 1980s;

Edie Roche, a Melling Road resident, who opened her home to jockeys, spectators and members of the media when the course was evacuated following a bomb threat in 1997;

Ian Stewart, a fan who had travelled from Coventry every year to watch the race and was attending his fiftieth National in 2010;

Police Constable Ken Lawson, who was celebrating thirty-one years of service in the mounted section of Merseyside Police and was set to escort his third National winner in 2010; and

Tony Roberts, whose first visit to the National had been in 1948 and who had steadily spread the word to family and friends about the race, regularly bringing a party of up to thirty people to the course.

A public vote announced at the 2012 Grand National saw five more additions to the Legends hall:

Fred Winter, who rode two National winners and trained two more;

Carl Llewellyn, jockey who won two Nationals including on Party Politics in 1992, the only horse to have won the Grand National and the Scottish and Welsh Nationals;

Fred Rimell, the trainer of four different National winning horses, including Nicolaus Silver, one of only three greys to have ever won the race;

Michael Scudamore, rider in sixteen consecutive Grand Nationals from 1951, finishing first in 1959 and also achieving a second and a third place;

Tommy Carberry, the jockey who stopped Red Rum's attempt at a third success in 1975 by winning on L'Escargot, also finished second and third before going on to train the winner in 1999.

The selection panel also inducted three more competitors:

Tommy Pickernell, who rode in seventeen Grand Nationals in the 19th century and won three. He allegedly turned down a substantial bribe during the 1860 race from the second-placed jockey and instead rode on to win;

Battleship, the only horse to have won both the Grand National and the American Grand National, and his jockey Bruce Hobbs, who remains the youngest jockey to win the Aintree race;

George Dockeray, who alongside Ginger McCain and Fred Rimell trained four National winners, starting with Lottery in the first official Grand National in 1839.

Notes

Mares

Since its inception, 13 mares have won the race:

Charity (1841)

Miss Mowbray (1852)

Anatis (1860)

Jealousy (1861)

Emblem (1863)

Emblematic (1864)

Casse Tete (1872)

Empress (1880)

Zoedone (1883)

Frigate (1889)

Shannon Lass (1902)

Sheila's Cottage (1948)

Nickel Coin (1951)

Greys

Three greys have won: The Lamb (1868, 1871) Nicolaus Silver (1961) Neptune Collonges (2012)

Female jockeys

Since 1977, female jockeys have participated in 18 Grand Nationals. Geraldine Rees became the first to complete the course in 1982. In 2011 Nina Carberry became the first female jockey to take her third ride in the race, also completing for the third time. In 2012 Katie Walsh became the first female jockey to earn a placed finish in the race, finishing third.

Year	Jockey	Horse		Result
	Charlotte Brew	Barony Fort	200/1	Refused, 26th fence
1979	Jenny Hembrow	Sandwilan	100/1	Fell, 1st fence
1980	Jenny Hembrow	Sandwilan	100/1	Pulled up, 19th fence
	Linda Sheedy	Deiopea	100/1	Refused, 19th fence
	Geraldine Rees	Cheers	66/1	Completed, 8th and last place
	Charlotte Brew	Martinstown	100/1	Unseated, 3rd fence
	Geraldine Rees	Midday Welcome	500/1	Fell, 1st fence
	Joy Carrier	King Spruce	28/1	Unseated, 6th fence
	Valerie Alder	Bush Guide	33/1	Fell, 8th fence
	Jacqui Oliver	Eamons Owen	200/1	Unseated, 15th fence
	Gee Armytage	Gee-A	33/1	Pulled up, 26th fence
	Venetia Williams	Marcolo	200/1	Fell, 6th fence
	Penny Ffitch-Heyes	Hettinger	200/1	Fell, 1st fence
	Tarnya Davis	Numerate	100/1	Pulled up, 21st fence
	Rosemary Henderson	Fiddlers Pike	100/1	Completed, 5th place
	Carrie Ford	Forest Gunner	8/1	Completed, 5th place
	Nina Carberry	Forest Gunner	33/1	Completed, 9th and last place
	Nina Carberry	Character Building	16/1	Completed, 7th place
	Nina Carberry	Character Building	25/1	Completed, 15th place
	Katie Walsh	Seabass	8/1 JF	Completed, 3rd place
	Nina Carberry	Organisedconfusion	25/1	Unseated, 8th fence

International winners

Two French-trained horses have won the Grand National, Huntsman (1862) and Cortolvin (1867). Five other winners were bred in France — Alcibiade (1865), Reugny (1874), Lutteur III (1909), Mon Mome (2009), and Neptune Collonges (2012).

In 1923, Sergeant Murphy became the first U.S.-bred horse to win the race. He is also the joint-second oldest horse to win, at age 13, alongside Why Not (1884). The U.S.-bred Battleship, son of the famous Man o' War, became the first (and so far only) horse to have won both the Grand National (in 1938) and the American Grand National (which he won four years earlier).

Jockey William Watkinson recorded the first riding success for Australia in 1926. He was killed at Bogside, Scotland, less than three weeks after winning the National.

1991 was the seventh and final year that the Grand National was sponsored by Seagram. Aptly, the race was won by a horse named Seagram, bred in New Zealand. 1997 saw another New Zealand-bred winner in Lord Gyllene.

Other British winners

The only Welsh-trained horse to win was Kirkland in 1905.

Rubstic, trained by John Leadbetter in Roxburghshire, became the first Scottish-trained winner, with victory in 1979.

Irish winners

Irish horses have enjoyed by far the most success of international participants, with 16 winners since 1900, including six since 1999:

Year	Horse	Jockey
		Robbie Power	33/1
	Numbersixvalverde	Niall Madden	11/1
	Hedgehunter	Ruby Walsh	7/1 F
	Monty's Pass	Barry Geraghty	16/1
		Ruby Walsh	10/1
	Bobbyjo	Paul Carberry	10/1
1975		Tommy Carberry	13/2
1958	Mr. What	Arthur Freeman	18/1
1955	Quare Times	Pat Taaffe	100/9
	Royal Tan	Bryan Marshall	8/1
1953	Early Mist	Bryan Marshall	20/1
1947	Caughoo	Eddie Dempsey	100/1
1939	Workman	Tim Hyde	100/8
1920	Troytown	Mr. Jack Anthony	6/1
1900	Ambush II	Algy Anthony	4/1

Famous owners

The 1900 winner Ambush II was owned by HRH Prince of Wales, later to become King Edward VII. In 1950 Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother had her first runner in the race in Monaveen, who finished fifth. Six years later she would witness her Devon Loch collapse on the run-in, just yards from a certain victory.

The favourite for the 1968 race, Different Class, was owned by actor Gregory Peck.

The 1963 winner Ayala and the 1976 winner Rag Trade were both part-owned by celebrity hairdresser Raymond Bessone.

1994 winner Miinnehoma was owned by comedian Freddie Starr.

A 12/1 shot, What A Friend, running in 2011, was part-owned by Sir Alex Ferguson. He was pulled up by jockey Daryl Jacob before the 27th fence.

See also

Horseracing in Great Britain

List of British National Hunt races

References

----

aintree.co.uk – ''Winners 1886–present''.

aintree.co.uk – ''Grand National Media Guide.''

bbc.co.uk – ''Grand National facts''.

horseracinghistory.co.uk – ''Aintree Grand National''.

pedigreequery.com – ''Grand National – Aintree''.

tbheritage.com – ''The Grand National''.

grandnational.org.uk – ''Grand National Reviews''.

External links

Tips and Information for the 2012 Grand National

BBC history of Grand National

Film footage of the 1967 Grand National great pile up

Category:National Hunt races in Great Britain Category:Aintree Racecourse Category:National Hunt chases Category:Sport in Sefton Category:Visitor attractions in Liverpool

cs:Velká národní de:Grand National es:Grand National eu:Grand National fr:Grand National (course hippique) nl:The Grand National ja:グランドナショナル pt:Grand National fi:Grand National sv:Grand National

Chinese–Turkish relations are foreign relations between the People's Republic of China and Turkey. Turkey recognized the PRC on 5 August 1971. Turkey pursues One-China policy and recognizes the PRC as the sole legal representative of China. The PRC has an embassy in Ankara, and a consulate–general in Istanbul whereas Turkey has an embassy in Beijing and 2 consulates–general in Hong Kong and Shanghai. However, recently, because of China's recent conflicts with Turkic Uyghur separatists, relations have at times been strained.

Korean War

During the Korean War a Turkish brigade served in the United Nations forces in support of South Korean and American forces and was attached to the U.S. 25th Infantry Division. Turkey was the second country, after the United States, to answer United Nations Resolution 83 requesting military aid to South Korea following the North Korean invasion. The Turkish government sent a brigade of 5,000 troops to fight under UN Command against North Korea and subsequently the People's Republic of China. The brigade fought in several important actions against Chinese forces at the Battle of Wawon and the battle of Kumyangjang-Ni (25–26 January 1950), after which the brigade was awarded Unit Citations from South Korea and the United States.

Visits

On 28 November 2008, Jia Qinglin, China’s top political advisor and the chairman of the People's Political Consultative Conference, gave an official goodwill visit to Turkey as guest of Turkish Parliament Speaker Köksal Toptan. In Ankara, Jia met Turkish President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. After visiting Ankara, Jia attended a business forum entitled "Turkish-Chinese Economic and Commercial Opportunities Forum" in İstanbul.

Turkish President Abdullah Gül has become the first Turkish president to visit China in 14 years with his official visit between on 24–29 June 2009. Gül said one of the major goals of his visit was to boost economic relations. In Beijing, Gül hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao and attended a Turkey-China business forum. Following the meetings, seven cooperation agreements were signed between the two countries in the fields of energy, banking, finance and culture. After Beijing, Gül visited Xian, and he was awarded with an honourary doctorate by the Xian Northwest University. In the third leg of his China trip, Gül visited Shenzhen. Upon an invitation of the Beijing administration, Gül also visited Urumqi, and has become the first Turkish president visiting Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

2009 riots

Initially in response to the July 2009 Ürümqi riots, the Foreign Ministry of Turkey urged the Chinese authorities to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice. But some officials disagreed: a deputy from ruling Justice & Development (AK) Party resigned from the Turkey-China Interparliamentary Friendship Group, and in his personal capacity, Turkey's industry and trade minister called on Turks to boycott Chinese goods to protest the continuing ethnic violence, to which the Chinese chargé d'affaires in Ankara expressed "surprise". After daily demonstrations in Ankara and Istanbul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan strengthened his rhetoric and said "These incidents in China are as if they are genocide. We ask the Chinese government not to remain a spectator to these incidents." China demanded that Recep Tayyip Erdogan retract his accusation; editorials in the state-run China Daily pointed out that 137 of the 184 victims of the unrest were Han Chinese, A phone conversation between China and Turkey's respective foreign ministers reaffirmed the importance of Turkish-Chinese relations, and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that Turkey did not intend "to interfere with the domestic affairs of China".

Reconciliation

On October 7, 2010, China and Turkey signed eight cooperation agreements relating to trade, cultural and technical exchange, marine cooperation, and other things. At the signing ceremony attended by both of the countries' prime ministers, both pledged to increase bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2015, and to cooperate in building high-speed rail to link Ankara to Istanbul. Later in November, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu toured China for six days and met with his counterpart Yang Jiechi, after Chinese premier Wen Jiabao visited Turkey and upgraded the China–Turkey relationship to a "strategic partnership". Among the joint pledges the foreign ministers made in China were to start a Turkish industrial zone in Xinjiang and to jointly crack down on separatism and terrorism, including on anti-China separatist activities in Turkey. Commentators have cited these stronger ties as further proof of a realignment of Turkish foreign policy to the "East".

See also

Foreign relations of the People's Republic of China

Foreign relations of Turkey

References

External links

Chinese embassy in Ankara

Turkish embassy in Beijing

Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the relations with China

A century-old Ottoman legacy in China

China Turkey

id:Hubungan Republik Rakyat Cina dengan Turki tr:Çin-Türkiye ilişkileri

name	Benigno S. Aquino, Jr.
office	Senator of the Philippines
term start	December 30, 1967
term end	September 23, 1972
office3	Presidential Adviser on Defense Affairs
term start3	1949
term end3	1954
office4	Governor of Tarlac
term start4	December 30, 1961
term end4	December 30, 1967
office5	Vice Governor of Tarlac
term start5	December 30, 1959
term end5	December 30, 1961
office6	Mayor of Concepcion, Tarlac
term start6	December 30, 1955
term end6	December 30, 1959
birth date	November 27, 1932
birth place	Concepcion, Tarlac, Philippines
death date	August 21, 1983
death place	Manila International Airport, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines
restingplace	Manila Memorial Park, Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines
cause of death	Assassination
nationality	Filipino
party	Liberal (1959–1983) LABAN (1978–1983)
otherparty	Nacionalista Party (1955–1959)
spouse	Corazon C. Aquino
children	Ma. Elena Aquino-CruzAurora Corazon Aquino-AbelladaBenigno S. Aquino IIIVictoria Elisa Aquino-DeeKristina Bernadette Aquino
residence	Times Street, Quezon City
alma mater	University of the PhilippinesAteneo de Manila University San Beda College High School (Class of 1948) St. Joseph's College, Quezon City
occupation	Politician
profession	Journalist
religion	Roman Catholicism
footnotes	}}

Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. (November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) was a Filipino Senator and a former Governor of Tarlac. Aquino, together with Gerry Roxas and Jovito Salonga, formed the leadership of the opposition to the Marcos regime in the years leading to the imposition of martial law in the Philippines. In 1973 he was arrested and incarcerated for 7 years, but was allowed to depart for the United States to seek medical treatment after he suffered a heart attack in 1980. He was assassinated at the Manila International Airport upon returning home from exile in the United States in 1983. His death catapulted his widow, Corazon Aquino, into the limelight, and prompted her to run for President as a member of the UNIDO party in the 1986 elections. Manila International Airport has been renamed Ninoy Aquino International Airport in his honor, and the anniversary of his death is a national holiday in the Philippines, Ninoy Aquino Day.

Early life and career

Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. was born in Concepcion, Tarlac, to a prosperous family of ''hacenderos'' (landlords), original owners of Hacienda Tinang, Hacienda Lawang and Hacienda Murcia.

His grandfather, Servillano Aquino, was a general in the revolutionary army of Emilio Aguinaldo.

His father, Benigno S. Aquino, Sr. (1894–1947) was a prominent member of the World War II Japanese collaborationist government of José P. Laurel, as Vice-President. In fact, his father once occupied the Arlegui Mansion guest house, originally owned by the Spanish-Filipino Laperal family of Manila and Baguio, the same house that his wife Cory Aquino used as private quarters during her presidency and the same house his son Noynoy Aquino candidly refused for having "too many memories". His father was one of two politicians representing Tarlac during his lifetime. The other was Jose Cojuangco, father of his future wife. His mother, Doña Aurora Aquino-Aquino, was also his father's third cousin. His father died while Ninoy was in his teens prior to coming to trial on treason charges resulting from his collaboration with the Japanese during the occupation.

Aquino was educated in private schools—St. Joseph's College, Ateneo de Manila, National University, and De La Salle College. He finished high school at San Beda College. Aquino took his tertiary education at the Ateneo de Manila to obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree, but he interrupted his studies. According to one of his biographies, he considered himself to be an average student; his grade was not in the line of 90s nor did it fall into the 70s. At age 17, he was the youngest war correspondent to cover the Korean War for the newspaper ''The Manila Times'' of Joaquin "Chino" Roces. Because of his journalistic feats, he received the Philippine Legion of Honor award from President Elpidio Quirino at age 18. At 21, he became a close adviser to then defense secretary Ramon Magsaysay. Aquino took up law at the University of the Philippines, where he became a member of Upsilon Sigma Phi, the same fraternity as Ferdinand Marcos. He interrupted his studies again however to pursue a career in journalism. According to Maximo Soliven, Aquino "later 'explained' that he had decided to go to as many schools as possible, so that he could make as many new friends as possible." In early 1954, he was appointed by President Ramon Magsaysay, his wedding sponsor to his 1953 wedding at the Our Lady of Sorrows church in Pasay with Corazon Cojuangco, to act as personal emissary to Luis Taruc, leader of the Hukbalahap rebel group. After four months of negotiations, he was credited for Taruc's unconditional surrender.

He became mayor of Concepcion in 1955 at the age of 22.

Political career

Aquino gained an early familiarity with Philippine politics, as he was born into one of the Philippines' prominent oligarchic clans. His grandfather served under President Aguinaldo, while his father held office under Presidents Quezon and Jose P. Laurel. As a consequence, Aquino able to be elected mayor when he was 22 years old. Five years later, he was elected the nation's youngest vice-governor at 27, despite having no real executive experience. Two years later he became governor of Tarlac province in 1961 at age 29, then secretary-general of the Liberal Party in 1966. In 1967 he became the youngest elected senator in the country's history at age 34.

In 1968, during his first year as senator, Aquino alleged that Marcos was on the road to establishing "a garrison state" by "ballooning the armed forces budget", saddling the defense establishment with "overstaying generals" and "militarizing our civilian government offices"—all these caveats were uttered barely four years before martial law, as was typical of the accusatory style of political confrontation at the time. However, no evidence was ever produced for any of these statements.

Aquino became known as a constant critic of the Marcos regime, as his flamboyant rhetoric had made him a darling of the media. His most polemical speech, "A Pantheon for Imelda", was delivered on February 10, 1969. He assailed the Cultural Center, the first project of First Lady Imelda Marcos as extravagant, and dubbed it "a monument to shame" and labelled its designer "a megalomaniac, with a penchant to captivate". By the end of the day, the country's broadsheets had blared that he labelled the President's wife, his cousin Paz's former ward, and a woman he had once courted, "the Philippines' Eva Peron". President Marcos is said to have been outraged and labelled Aquino "a congenital liar". The First Lady's friends angrily accused Aquino of being "ungallant". These so-called "fiscalization" tactics of Aquino quickly became his trademark in the Senate.

Martial law, hunger strike

It was not until the Plaza Miranda bombing however—on August 21, 1971, 12 years to the day before Aquino's own assassination—that the pattern of direct confrontation between Marcos and Aquino emerged. At 9:15 pm, at the kick-off rally of the Liberal Party, the candidates had formed a line on a makeshift platform and were raising their hands as the crowd applauded. The band played, a fireworks display drew all eyes, when suddenly there were two loud explosions that obviously were not part of the show. In an instant the stage became a scene of wild carnage. The police later discovered two fragmentation grenades that had been thrown at the stage by "unknown persons". Eight people died, and 120 others were wounded, many critically. Aquino was absent at the incident.

Although suspicions pointed to the Nacionalistas (the political party of Marcos), Marcos allies sought to deflect this by insinuating that, perhaps, Aquino might have had a hand in the blast in a bid to eliminate his potential rivals within the party. Later, the Marcos government presented "evidence" of the bombings as well as an alleged threat of a communist insurgency, suggesting that the bombings were the handiwork of the growing New People's Army. Marcos made this a pretext to suspend the right of ''habeas corpus'', vowed that the killers would be apprehended within 48 hours, and arrested a score of known "Maoists" on general principle. Ironically, the police captured one of the bombers, who was identified as a sergeant of the firearms and explosive section of the Philippine Constabulary, a military arm of the government. According to Aquino, this man was later snatched from police custody by military personnel and never seen again.

President Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972 and he went on air to broadcast his declaration on midnight of September 23. Aquino was one of the first to be arrested and imprisoned on trumped-up charges of murder, illegal possession of firearms and subversion. He was tried before Military Commission No. 2 headed by Major-General Jose Syjuco. On April 4, 1975, Aquino announced that he was going on a hunger strike, a fast to the death to protest the injustices of his military trial. Ten days through his hunger strike, he instructed his lawyers to withdraw all motions he had submitted to the Supreme Court. As weeks went by, he subsisted solely on salt tablets, sodium bicarbonate, amino acids, and two glasses of water a day. Even as he grew weaker, suffering from chills and cramps, soldiers forcibly dragged him to the military tribunal's session. His family and hundreds of friends and supporters heard Mass nightly at the Santuario de San Jose in Greenhills, San Juan, praying for his survival. Near the end, Aquino's weight had dropped from 54 to 36 kilos. Aquino nonetheless was able to walk throughout his ordeal. On May 13, 1975, on the 40th day, his family and several priests and friends, begged him to end his fast, pointing out that even Christ fasted only for 40 days. He acquiesced, confident that he had made a symbolic gesture. But he remained in prison, and the trial continued, drawn out for several years. On November 25, 1977, the Commission found Aquino guilty of all charges and sentenced him to death by firing squad.

1978 elections, bypass surgery, exile

In 1978, from his prison cell, he was allowed to take part in the elections for Interim Batasang Pambansa (Parliament). Although his friends, former Senators Gerry Roxas and Jovito Salonga, preferred to boycott the elections, Aquino urged his supporters to organize and run 21 candidates in Metro Manila. Thus his political party, dubbed ''Lakas ng Bayan'' ("People's Power"), was born. The party's acronym was "LABAN" (in Tagalog). He was allowed one television interview on ''Face the Nation'' (hosted by Ronnie Nathanielsz) and proved to a startled and impressed populace that imprisonment had neither dulled his rapier-like tongue nor dampened his fighting spirit. Foreign correspondents and diplomats asked what would happen to the LABAN ticket. People agreed with him that his party would win overwhelmingly in an honest election. Not surprisingly, all his candidates lost due to widespread election fraud.

In mid-March 1980, Aquino suffered a heart attack, possibly the result of seven years in prison, mostly in a solitary cell. He was transported to the Philippine Heart Center, where he suffered a second heart attack. ECG and other tests showed that he had a blocked artery. Philippine surgeons were reluctant to do a coronary bypass, because it could involve them in a controversy. In additional, Aquino refused to submit himself to Philippine doctors, fearing possible Marcos "duplicity"; he preferred to go to the United States for the procedure or return to his cell at Fort Bonifacio and die. He also appeared in the ''700 Club'' television ministry of Pat Robertson, where he narrated his spiritual life, accepted "Christ as his Lord and Savior" and became a born-again Christian, which sprang from a conversation with Charles Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, who was involved in the Watergate Scandal during U.S. President Richard Nixon's administration.

On May 8, 1980, Imelda Marcos made an unannounced visit to Aquino at his hospital room. She asked him if he would like to leave that evening for the U.S., but not before agreeing on two conditions: 1) that if he left, he would return; 2) while in the U.S., he would not speak out against the Marcos regime. She then ordered General Fabian Ver and Mel Mathay to provide passports and plane tickets for the Aquino family. Aquino was placed in a closed van, rushed to his home on Times Street to pack, driven to the airport and put on a plane bound for the U.S. that same day, accompanied by his family.

Aquino was operated on at a hospital in Dallas, Texas. He made a quick recovery, was walking within two weeks and making plans to fly to Damascus, Syria to meet with Muslim leaders, which he did five weeks later. When he reiterated that he was returning to the Philippines, he received a surreptitious message from the Marcos government saying that he was now granted an extension of his "medical furlough". Eventually, Aquino decided to renounce his two covenants with Malacañang "because of the dictates of higher national interest". After all, Aquino added, "a pact with the devil is no pact at all".

Aquino spent three years in self-exile, living with his family in Newton, a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. On fellowship grants from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he worked on the manuscripts of two books and gave a series of lectures in school halls, classrooms and auditoriums. He traveled extensively in the U.S., delivering speeches critical of the Marcos government.

Planning return

Throughout his years of expatriation, Aquino was always aware that his life in the U.S. was temporary. He never stopped affirming his eventual return even as he enjoyed American hospitality and a peaceful life with his family on American soil. After spending 7 years and 7 months in prison, Aquino's finances were in ruins. Making up for the lost time as the family's breadwinner, he toured America; attending symposiums, lectures, and giving speeches in freedom rallies opposing the Marcos dictatorship. The most memorable was held at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles, California on February 15, 1981.

In the first quarter of 1983, Aquino received news about the deteriorating political situation in his country and the rumored declining health of President Marcos (due to lupus). He believed that it was expedient for him to speak to Marcos and present to him his rationale for the country's return to democracy, before extremists took over and made such a change impossible. Moreover, his years of absence made his allies worry that the Filipinos might have resigned themselves to Marcos' strongman rule and that without his leadership the centrist opposition would die a natural death.

Aquino decided to go back to the Philippines, fully aware of the dangers that awaited him. Warned that he would either be imprisoned or killed, Aquino answered, "if it's my fate to die by an assassin's bullet, so be it. But I cannot be petrified by inaction, or fear of assassination, and therefore stay in the side..." His family, however, learned from a Philippine Consulate official that there were orders from Ministry of Foreign Affairs not to issue any passports for them. At that time, their visas had expired and their renewal had been denied. They therefore formulated a plan for Aquino to fly alone (to attract less attention), with the rest of the family to follow him after two weeks. Despite the government's ban on issuing him a passport, Aquino acquired one with the help of Rashid Lucman, a former Mindanao legislator and founder of the Bangsamoro Liberation Front, a Moro separatist group against Marcos. It carried the alias ''Marcial Bonifacio'' (Marcial for martial law and Bonifacio for Fort Bonifacio, his erstwhile prison). He eventually obtained a legitimate passport from a sympathizer working in a Philippine consulate through the help of Roque R. Ablan Jr, then a Congressman. The Marcos government warned all international airlines that they would be denied landing rights and forced to return if they tried to fly Aquino to the Philippines. Aquino insisted that it was his natural right as a citizen to come back to his homeland, and that no government could prevent him from doing so. He left Logan International Airport on August 13, 1983, took a circuitous route home from Boston, via Los Angeles to Singapore. In Singapore, then Tunku Ibrahim Ismail of Johor met Aquino upon his arrival in Singapore and later brought him to Johor to meet with other Malaysian leaders. Once in Johor, Aquino met up with Tunku Ibrahim's father, Sultan Iskandar, who was a close friend to Aquino.

He then left for Hong Kong and on to Taipei. He had chosen Taipei as the final stopover when he learned the Philippines had severed diplomatic ties with the Republic of China (Taiwan). This made him feel more secure; the Taiwan authorities could pretend they were not aware of his presence. There would also be a couple of Taiwanese friends accompanying him. From Taipei he flew to Manila on China Airlines Flight 811.

Marcos wanted Aquino to stay out of politics, however Aquino asserted his willingness to suffer the consequences declaring, "the Filipino is worth dying for." He wished to express an earnest plea for Marcos to step down, for a peaceful regime change and a return to democratic institutions. Anticipating the worst, at an interview in his suite at the Taipei Grand Hotel, he revealed that he would be wearing a bullet-proof vest, but he also said that "it's only good for the body, but for the head there's nothing else we can do." Sensing his own doom, he told the journalists accompanying him on the flight, "You have to be ready with your hand camera because this action can become very fast. In a matter of 3 or 4 minutes it could be all over, and I may not be able to talk to you again after this." In his last formal statement that he wasn't able to deliver, he said, "I have returned to join the ranks of those struggling to restore our rights and freedom through violence. I seek no confrontation."

Assassination

Aquino was assassinated on August 21, 1983 when he was shot in the head after returning to the country. At the time, bodyguards were assigned to him by the Marcos government. A subsequent investigation produced controversy but no definitive results. After the Marcos government was overthrown, another investigation found sixteen defendants guilty. They were all sentenced to life in prison. Over the years, some were released, and the last one was let out in March 2009.

Another man present at the airport tarmac, Rolando Galman, was shot dead shortly after Aquino was killed. The Marcos government claimed Galman was the triggerman in Aquino's assassination.

Funeral

Aquino's body lay in state in a glass coffin. No effort was made to disguise a bullet wound that had disfigured his face. In an interview with Aquino's mother, Aurora, she told the funeral parlor not to apply makeup nor embalm her son, to see "what they did to my son". Thousands of supporters flocked to see the bloodied body of Aquino, which took place at the Aquino household in Times St., Quezon City for nine days. Aquino's wife, Corazon Aquino, and children Ballsy, Pinky, Viel, Noynoy and Kris arrived the day after the assassination. Aquino's funeral procession on August 31 lasted from 9 a.m., when his funeral mass was held at Santo Domingo Church in Santa Mesa Heights, Quezon City, with the Cardinal Archbishop of Manila, Jaime Sin officiating, to 9 p.m., when his body was interred at the Manila Memorial Park. More than two million people lined the streets during the procession which was aired by the Church-sponsored Radio Veritas, the only station to do so. The procession reached Rizal Park, where the Philippine flag was brought to half-staff.

Jovito Salonga, then head of the Liberal Party, said about Aquino:

Ninoy was getting impatient in Boston, he felt isolated by the flow of events in the Philippines. In early 1983, Marcos was seriously ailing, the Philippine economy was just as rapidly declining, and insurgency was becoming a serious problem. Ninoy thought that by coming home he might be able to persuade Marcos to restore democracy and somehow revitalize the Liberal Party.

and called him "the greatest president we never had"

Legacy

In Senator Aquino's honor, the Manila International Airport (MIA) where he was assassinated was renamed Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and his image is printed on the 500-peso bill. August 21, the anniversary of his death, is Ninoy Aquino Day, an annual public holiday in the Philippines. Several monuments were built in his honor. Most renowned is the bronze memorial in Makati City near the Philippine Stock Exchange, which has become a popular venue for anti-government rallies and large demonstrations. Another bronze statue is in front of the Municipal Building of Concepcion, Tarlac.

Although Aquino was recognized as the most prominent and most dynamic opposition leader of his generation, in the years prior to martial law he was regarded by many as being a representative of the entrenched familial elite which to this day dominates Philippine politics. While atypically telegenic and uncommonly articulate, he had his share of detractors and was not known to be immune to ambitions and excesses of the ruling political class. However, during his seven years and seven months imprisoned as a political prisoner of Marcos, Aquino read the book ''Born Again'' by convicted Watergate conspirator Charles Colson and it inspired him to a religious awakening.

As a result, the remainder of his personal and political life had a distinct spiritual sheen. He emerged as a contemporary counterpart of Jose Rizal, who was among the world's earliest proponents of the use of non-violence to combat a repressive regime. Some remained skeptical of Aquino's redirected spiritual focus, but it ultimately had an effect on his wife's political career. While some may question the prominence given Aquino in Philippine history, it was his assassination that was pivotal to the downfall of a despotic ruler and the eventual restoration of democracy in the Philippines.

Personal life

On October 11, 1954, he married Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco, with whom he had five children (four daughters and a son):

Maria Elena Aquino-Cruz (Ballsy, born August 18, 1955), married to Eldon Cruz, sons Justin Benigno "Jiggy" Cruz and Eldon "Jonty" Cruz, Jr.

Aurora Corazon Aquino-Abellada (Pinky, born December 27, 1957), married to Manuel Abellada, son Miguel Abellada, daughter Nina Abellada

Benigno Simeon Aquino III (Noynoy, born February 8, 1960), the 15th and current President of the Philippines

Victoria Elisa Aquino-Dee (Viel, born October 27, 1961), married to Joseph Dee, son Francis "Kiko" Dee, daughter Jacinta Patricia "Jia" Dee

Kristina Bernadette Aquino (Kris, born February 14, 1971), married to James Yap (2005–2010), sons Joshua Philip "Josh" Aquino Salvador and James "Baby James/Bimby" Aquino Yap, Jr.

Ancestry

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References

External links

History Channel's feature documentary on Ninoy Aquino's Assassination]

http://services.inquirer.net/print/print.php?article_id=154970

Category:1932 births Category:1983 deaths Benigno Aquino 2 Category:Assassinated Filipino politicians Category:Ateneo de Manila University alumni Category:Deaths by firearm in the Philippines Category:Filipino democracy activists Category:Filipino expatriates in the United States Category:Filipino journalists Category:Filipino Roman Catholics Category:Harvard University people Category:Kapampangan people Category:Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians Category:Mayors of places in the Philippines Category:Members of the Senate of the Philippines Category:Nacionalista Party politicians Category:People from Tarlac Category:People murdered in the Philippines Category:People's Power (Philippines) politicians Category:Provincial governors of the Philippines Category:Spouses of the Presidents of the Philippines

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Aaron Louis Friedberg (born April 16, 1956) served from 2003 to 2005 in the office of the Vice President of the United States as deputy assistant for national-security affairs and director of policy planning.

After receiving his PhD in Politics from Harvard, Friedberg joined the Princeton University faculty in 1987 and was appointed professor of politics and international affairs in 1999. He has served as Director of Princeton's Research Program in International Security at the Woodrow Wilson School as well as Acting Director of the Center of International Studies at Princeton. Friedberg is a former fellow at the Smithsonian Institution’s Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Norwegian Nobel Institute, and Harvard University’s Center for International Affairs. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Counselors for the National Bureau of Asian Research's Pyle Center for Northeast Asian Studies.

In September 2001, Friedberg began a nine-month residential appointment as the first Henry Alfred Kissinger Scholar at the Library of Congress. During his tenure he researched "the rise of Asia and its implications for America." Apart from many articles for ''Commentary'' magazine, Friedberg has written several books on foreign relations.

He was one of the signers of the Project for the New American Century documents ''Statement of Principles'' (June 3, 1997) and a letter on terrorism submitted to President George W. Bush (September 20, 2001). His name has been connected to the Aspen Strategy Group at the Aspen Institute.

International Relations Philosophy

Although Friedberg's international relations philosophy is rooted in concern for the structural organization of power characteristic of the realist school of international relations, he draws from many of the traditions of liberal institutionalism, resulting in what scholar Thomas Christensen has termed a "positive-sum" stance on international relations. Hence, unlike his more pessimistic realist scholars, Friedberg, in a seminal article published in International Security in 1993, advocated continued U.S. engagement in East Asia to serve as a stabilizing force until regional economic integration and multilateral institutions had time to develop. Thus, in contrast to traditional realpolitik scholars, Friedberg believes that conflict is not inevitable in East Asia as China continues to develop as long as multilateral institutions and economic integration are used as tools to manage security dilemmas.

Books

''The Weary Titan: Britain and The Experience of Relative Decline, 1895-1905'' (Princeton University Press, 1988)

''In the Shadow of the Garrison State: America's Anti-Statism and Its Cold War Grand Strategy'' (Princeton University Press, 2000)

''A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 2011)

References

External links

Friedberg's current blog at ForeignPolicy.com

Friedberg's bio at ForeignPolicy.com

The Geopolitics of Strategic Asia, 2000-2020 in ''Strategic Asia 2010-11: Asia's Rising Power and America's Continued Purpose'' (National Bureau of Asian Research, September 2010)

"'Going Out': China's Pursuit of Natural Resources and Implications for the PRC's Grand Strategy," by Aaron L. Friedberg (''NBR Analysis'', September 2006)

"Pursuing Security in a Dynamic Northeast Asia," Aaron L. Friedberg, coauthor (''Asia Policy'', January 2007)

"What If? A World without the U.S.-ROK Alliance," Aaron L. Friedberg, coauthor (''Asia Policy'', January 2008)

Category:Political realists Category:1956 births Category:Living people Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Princeton University faculty Category:Harvard University staff