E.S.B. (horse)

E.S.B. was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse which won the 1956 Grand National.^[1]

E.S.B.
Sire	Bidar
Grandsire	Blenheim
Dam	English Summer
Damsire	Blue Ensign
Sex	Gelding
Foaled	1946
Country	Ireland
Colour	Dark bay or brown
Breeder	Sheila Bourke
Owner	Mrs Leonard Carver
Trainer	Fred Rimell
Record	92:24-?-?
Major wins
Grand National (1956)

E.S.B. was a dark bay gelding bred in County Kildare by Sheila Bourke. Trained by Fred Rimell, E.S.B. was ridden by jockey Dave Dick in the 1956 running of the steeplechase at Aintree Racecourse. He started at odds of 100/7 in a field of twenty-nine runners. The race seemed certain to be won by Devon Loch, who held a five-length lead on the run-in. However, forty yards from the finishing post, Devon Loch suddenly, and inexplicably, half-jumped into the air and collapsed in a bellyflop on the turf. E.S.B. overtook and sealed an unlikely victory, completing the course in 9 minutes 21.4 seconds,^[1] one second off the record completion time.^[2]

E.S.B.'s win was the first of four for trainer Rimell, who went on to train winners Nicolaus Silver (1961), Gay Trip (1970) and Rag Trade (1976).^[3]

References

1. Mark Popham, ed. (2011), The 2011 John Smith's Grand National media guide (PDF), Racenews^{[permanent dead link‍]}
2. Cantwell, Robert (25 March 1968). "Mystery Makes A Writer". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
3. Keogh, Frank (9 April 2011). "Grand National: Vote to honour Aintree legends". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2011.