1972 Grand National: Well To Do Gives Tim Forster His First Aintree Win
Some Grand National winners arrive at Aintree after months of careful planning, but in the case of Well To Do, he almost did not make it into the race at all!
Captain Tim Forster had serious doubts about entering the nine-year-old for the 1972 Grand National and, according to accounts from the time, it took some firm encouragement from John Sumner to change his mind.
That decision proved rather important because on April 8th, 1972, Well To Do carried just 10st 1lb and beat former winner Gay Trip by two lengths.
It gave Forster the first of his three Grand National victories, and it was also a very personal success because Forster was not only the trainer, but the owner of the horse as well.
Well To Do Had Come to Forster in Sad Circumstances
The story behind Well To Do makes his National victory all the more interesting. The chestnut gelding, by Phebus out of Princess Puzzlement, was foaled in 1963, and had been bought as an unbroken three-year-old for £750 by Heather Sumner, one of Forster’s leading owners.
Heather and her husband John were important supporters of Forster’s stable and had a long association with racing and breeding. Their Marston Stud in Oxfordshire would remain closely linked with some very good horses for many years.
Sadly, Heather Sumner died from cancer in June 1971. Her will allowed Forster to choose one of her horses to keep for himself, and he chose Well To Do.
Less than a year later, the horse would carry Forster’s own colours to victory in the biggest steeplechase in the world.
There is also a lovely twist to the story because Forster was far from convinced that his new horse should even run at Aintree, and it was John Sumner who thought otherwise.
One account of Forster’s career says the telegram entering Well To Do was sent to Weatherbys only around half an hour before entries closed, after Sumner persuaded the trainer to give the National a go.
Forster’s caution was fairly typical, and he became famous for being pessimistic about the chances of his horses, even when he had very good ones!
Well To Do Attracted Plenty of Betting Support
Well To Do was originally available at around 33/1, but his price shortened sharply when Graham Thorner was confirmed for the ride, and by the time the runners went to post he was 14/1.
Thorner was certainly no unknown jockey. He had joined Forster straight from school at the age of 15 and became Champion National Hunt Jockey in the 1970/71 season. By the end of his riding career he had partnered around 650 winners.
Well To Do also had a very attractive weight and carried 10st 1lb, while the favourite L’Escargot had 12st.
L’Escargot had already won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1970 and 1971 and looked to have the class to become a serious National horse.
His 1972 attempt did not last long, and he was knocked over at the third fence, removing one of the biggest dangers from the race almost immediately. He would eventually get his Aintree success three years later when he famously beat Red Rum in the 1975 National.
A Tough 1972 Grand National
There were 42 runners in the 1972 Grand National and conditions were officially described as good to soft.
By the closing stages, several familiar Aintree names remained involved. Gay Trip had won the National in 1970, while Specify was attempting to follow up his victory from 1971. Black Secret had finished runner-up to Specify the previous year, and Astbury had been third.
Well To Do therefore had some very experienced National horses to beat, but Thorner kept his mount in contention and gradually began to move closer as the field thinned out.
By the time they reached the closing fences, Well To Do, Gay Trip, Black Secret and General Symons were among those still fighting for the major places.
Well To Do Versus Gay Trip
Gay Trip was trying to win his second Grand National and had top-class rider Terry Biddlecombe aboard.
But there was a major difference between the two horses. Well To Do carried 10st 1lb. Gay Trip had 11st 9lb, meaning the previous National winner was giving Well To Do 22lb.
Well To Do held a narrow advantage after jumping the final fence, but Gay Trip was not finished. Biddlecombe brought his horse towards the better ground, and the pair closed in on the long run towards the Elbow.
For a time it looked as though the old National winner might get to him, but Well To Do kept going.
Thorner asked for everything as they straightened towards the finish and the lighter-weighted horse found enough to hold Gay Trip off, eventually winning by two lengths.
Behind them came another unusual piece of Grand National history.
Black Secret and General Symons could not be separated for third, becoming the first horses to dead-heat for a place in the National.
Astbury finished fifth and defending champion Specify was sixth with only nine of the 42 starters completing the course.
The First of Three Nationals for Tim Forster
At the time, nobody knew that Well To Do was starting a remarkable Grand National record for Tim Forster.
Eight years later, Forster won the race again when Ben Nevis landed the 1980 National at 40/1. Then came Last Suspect, another 50/1 winner for the stable in 1985.
Well To Do was also Forster’s only Grand National winner that he actually owned himself, and his victory made Forster the first owner-trainer to win the National since before the Second World War.
For Graham Thorner, it would be his only victory in the race.
What Happened to Well To Do After the National?
Well To Do never ran in the Grand National again. He did continue racing for a short time, and his name lived on at Towcester through the Well To Do Chase, a race which was still being staged years later.
Eventually Well To Do returned to the Sumner family’s home in Northamptonshire, where he died in 1985, aged 22, and was buried alongside another very special Grand National winner, Reynoldstown.
That was quite fitting. Reynoldstown had won the National in both 1935 and 1936 and spent his retirement with the same family. The Jockey Club still records that the two Aintree winners lie alongside one another at Marston St Lawrence.
Well To Do may only have appeared once in the Grand National, but one attempt was all he needed.
A horse inherited following the death of a much-loved owner, entered only after Tim Forster had been persuaded to take his chance, and backed from 33/1 into 14/1 ended up giving one of Britain’s best-known trainers his first Grand National.
Not bad for a horse who very nearly wasn’t entered.
BETFRED
