Willsford Explained

Horsename:Willsford
Sire:Beau Charmeur
Grandsire:Le Fabuleux
Dam:Wish Again
Damsire:Three Wishes
Sex:Gelding
Foaled:1983
Country:Great Britain
Colour:Bay
Breeder:William Roland Rothwell
Owner:Arnold Kaplan, Robert Johnson and David Johnson
Trainer:Jenny Pitman
Record:50: 14 - 5 - 7
Earnings:£165,341
Race:County Hurdle (1989)
Midlands Grand National (1990)
Eider Chase (1995)
Scottish Grand National (1995)

Willsford (1983–1996) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who was successful under National Hunt rules.

Background

Willsford was owned by Arnold Kaplan, Robert Johnson and David Johnson and trained by Jenny Pitman. He was named after a block of flats where Robert and his wife, Janet, and Arnold and his wife, Kathy, all used to live together, Willsford Green in Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Racing career

Willsford won the County Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival as a six-year-old and was then moved up to steeplechases and won the Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter in 1990.

In 1995, at the age of twelve, he became the oldest horse to win the Scottish Grand National.

Willsford had a heart attack and died in a race at Cheltenham Racecourse in November 1996.

There have been a few memorial races held for Willsford at Cheltenham Racecourse.

Willsford made one appearance in the Grand National, finishing 20th in 1992.