Peter O'Sullevan National Hunt Chase Top Facts

Here are our Peter O'Sullevan National Hunt Chase Top Facts

1. The National Hunt Chase has been run more times than any other race at The Festival, and is in its 138th year in 2008. Until the 1930s, only the Grand National was more important than the National Hunt Chase in the jump calendar. The race had been run at a number of venues until it became a part of the new two-day National Hunt Festival at Cheltenham in 1911. It had also been run at Cheltenham in 1904 and 1905.
   
2. The four-mile National Hunt Chase is the longest race run at The Festival. The race has been reduced in distance by a furlong this year and reverts back to the old course.
   
3. The race is usually one of the best supported at The Festival, with very competitive fields each year. The largest post-war field size is 37 (1948) and the smallest 13 (1993). There is now a safety limit of 20 runners.
   
4. Flimsy Truth, a 33/1 chance, set a record post-war time of 8 mins 11.09 secs in 1998 but that was beaten by Relaxation in 2000, who scored in 8 mins 0.60s.
   
5. Flimsy Truth is not the longest-priced post-war winner - that honour goes to Topsham Bay, successful in 1990, and 2005 winner Another Rum, who were both returned at 40/1. Castledermot, 6/4 favourite in 1949, is the shortest-priced victor.
   
6. The contest is run in honour of Sir Peter O?Sullevan. The former BBC commentator and “Voice Of Racing” celebrates his 90th birthday on March 3. It was at his request that “Sir” was not included in the race title.
   
7. The race has proved a good guide to future success in recent seasons. Last year?s winner Butler's Cabin subsequently won the Irish Grand National while 2006 victor Hot Weld landed a memorable double in 2007 by collecting the Scottish National and the Betfred Gold Cup in the space of a week. 2007 John Smith's Grand National victor Silver Birch finished fourth in 2004.

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