Chepstow gets ready for Welsh National

Four previous winners will be in the field at Chepstow on Monday
Four previous winners will be in the field at Chepstow on Monday

2009 marks 60 years of the Welsh National - sponsored by bookmakers Coral since 1973 - at Chepstow Racecourse.

First run in 1895, the race moved to Chepstow four years after the Second World War following the closure of the racecourse at Newport.

The 1949 race was won by a horse called Fighting Line, ridden by none other than the thriller writer Dick Francis.

Dick Francis was born in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, and now - in his 90th year - is still writing best-selling novels from his home in the Cayman Islands.

Many great horses have won the Coral Welsh National.

Over the years, the winners have included Aintree Grand National heroes like Rag Trade, Bindaree, Earth Summit and Silver Birch. Earth Summit, whose victory came in 1997, was in fact the first horse to win the English, Welsh and Scottish Nationals.

Chepstow Racecourse's General Manager Richard Holland chats to Real Sport's Mark Poyser ahead of the race

Bonanza Boy was the last horse to win back-to-back Welsh Nationals - exactly 20 years ago.

Corbiere was the first horse trained by a woman - Jenny Pitman - to win the Aintree Grand National. He won at Chepstow in 1982.

Cheltenham Gold Cup winners to have starred in the Welsh National include Burrough Hill Lad and Cool Ground.

Twelve months ago, Notre Pere became the first Irish-trained horse to win the Coral Welsh National.

But it is more than 44 years since a horse trained in Wales won the race.

Norther, trained in the Vale of Glamorgan, was the last horse stabled in The Principality to claim glory on the showpiece day of the whole year at Chepstow Racecourse. That was back in 1965 when the race was run in the spring.

Now, in 2009, can the greatest horse race in Wales be won once again by a horse trained in Wales?

Eight horses trained in Wales are among the initial entries for the £100,000 race - three from Tim Vaughan, two from Craig Roberts and one apiece from Peter Bowen, Keith Goldsworthy and Evan Williams.

But it won't be easy for the Welsh-trained horses. Four previous winners of the Coral Welsh National could take part.

They are Miko De Beauchene (2007), Halcon Genelardais (2006), L'Aventure (2005) and Silver Birch (2004).

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