The 2006 Grand National (known as the John Smith's Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 159th official annual running of the Grand National steeplechase which took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 8 April 2006 and attracted the maximum permitted field of forty competitors for total prize money of £689,360 including £399,140 to the winner.
11-1 Irish shot Numbersixvalverde, ridden by Niall 'Slippers' Madden, won the race, ahead of 5-1 joint-favourite and the previous year's winner Hedgehunter in second place. The other joint-favourite, Clan Royal, was deemed third in a photo finish ahead of Nil Desperandum at 33-1. Nine of the forty runners completed the course, the fewest since 2001.
Read more about 2006 Grand National: Runners and Betting, The Race, Finishing Order, Non-finishers, Aftermath, Coverage, Jockeys
Famous quotes containing the words grand and/or national:
“What is grand is necessarily obscure to weak men. That which can be made explicit to the idiot is not worth my care.”
—William Blake (17571827)
“I submit all my plays to the National Theatre for rejection. To assure myself I am seeing clearly.”
—Howard Barker (b. 1946)