The 1997 Grand National was scheduled as the 150th running of the race at Aintree on Saturday 5 April, with a crowd of about 60,000 already in place and runners in the paddock when events took a dramatic turn.
Shortly before the off, two coded telephone warnings using recognised IRA codewords were made to local police and a nearby hospital, claiming that explosive devices had been planted on the racecourse.
With no time to fully search such a vast site, Merseyside Police ordered an immediate evacuation, clearing tens of thousands of racegoers and race personnel from Aintree and locking in vehicles and belongings as everyone was shepherded away on foot.
Controlled explosions were later carried out and, with security concerns paramount, officials abandoned the entire Saturday card.
Determined not to let the threat defeat the sport, racing authorities and police quickly agreed to restage the Grand National on the Monday, 7 April, in an unprecedented move for the world’s most famous steeplechase.
Initial estimates suggested perhaps 10,000 might return, but more than 20,000 racegoers came back to Aintree 49 hours after the original off time, turning the “Monday National” into a defiant occasion under tight security.
Many of the horses were housed at nearby Haydock Park over the intervening days, adding a further logistical challenge to what was already a highly unusual renewal.
Lord Gyllene – The Winner
Lord Gyllene was a New Zealand‑bred gelding, foaled on 10 November 1988, who had shown useful but not superstar form in his homeland before being purchased for British owner and racecourse entrepreneur Stan Clarke.
Sent to Shropshire trainer Steve Brookshaw, the horse began to build a reputation as a bold‑jumping staying chaser, well suited to long distances and testing conditions.
Those runs marked him down as an ideal Aintree type: nimble enough to attack his fences, yet with the stamina to keep up a strong gallop.
In the build‑up to the race he attracted plenty of support and was ante‑post favourite at one stage, but by the time the rescheduled National was finally run he was sent off at 14/1, carrying the minimum weight of 10st under Irish‑born jockey Tony Dobbin.
Brookshaw, an unfashionable trainer at the time, suddenly found himself with a live National hope in a year when the race was already destined for the history books.
The 1997 Running: Pillar to Post
When the tapes eventually went up on Monday afternoon for the 30‑fence, four‑and‑a‑half‑mile test, Lord Gyllene was sharply away and Dobbin quickly allowed him to stride on near the head of affairs.
By the second fence he had assumed a clear lead and, remarkably for a race often characterised by constant position changes, he was never headed in what became a sustained exhibition of jumping and galloping.
Behind him, the likes of Suny Bay, Go Ballistic and Camelot Knight tried to hold a watching brief, but the pace and fluency of the leader gradually forced errors and attrition in behind.
Go Ballistic, the 7/1 favourite following high‑class form earlier in the season, could not land a blow, while Suny Bay, winner of the Grand National Trial at Haydock, emerged as the only serious danger but remained under hard driving as Lord Gyllene lengthened again on the second circuit.
As they crossed the Melling Road for the final time, Dobbin still had a commanding advantage and was able to nurse his mount home without ever coming off the bridle in desperation.
Stopping the clock at 9 minutes 5.9 seconds, Lord Gyllene recorded one of the fastest times of the modern era over the National course and scored by a commanding 25 lengths from Suny Bay, with the 100/1 shot Camelot Knight staying on for third and Buckboard Bounce taking fourth.
It was, in many observers’ eyes, a one‑horse race from a very early stage, a rare example of a Grand National dominated from the front without any major late drama. For Dobbin it was a first success in the race; for Brookshaw and Clarke it was a career‑defining moment achieved in unique and testing circumstances.
Finishing Order
| Pos | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lord Gyllene (NZ) | S A Brookshaw | Tony Dobbin | 14/1 |
| 2 | Suny Bay (IRE) | Charlie Brooks | Jamie Osborne | 8/1 |
| 3 | Camelot Knight | Nigel Twiston-Davies | Carl Llewellyn | 100/1 |
| 4 | Buckboard Bounce | G Richards | Paul Carberry | 40/1 |
| 5 | Master Oats | Kim Bailey | Norman Williamson | 25/1 |
| 6 | Avro Anson | M J Camacho | Peter Niven | 12/1 |
| 7 | Killeshin | H J Manners | Sean Curran | 33/1 |
| 8 | Dakyns Boy | Nigel Twiston-Davies | Timmy Murphy | 100/1 |
| 9 | Nahthen Lad (IRE) | Mrs J Pitman | Jason Titley | 14/1 |
| 10 | Valiant Warrior | Micky Hammond | Russ Garritty | 50/1 |
| 11 | Antonin (FR) | Mrs S A Bramall | Conor O'Dwyer | 14/1 |
| 12 | Northern Hide | M Salaman | P Holley | 66/1 |
| 13 | Turning Trix | D Nicholson | J R Kavanagh | 25/1 |
| 14 | Pink Gin I | Micky Hammond | Mr C Bonner | 100/1 |
| 15 | New Co (IRE) | M F Morris | D J Casey | 40/1 |
| 16 | General Wolfe | T A Forster | Lorcan Wyer | 16/1 |
| 17 | Evangelica (USA) | M C Pipe | R Supple | 33/1 |
| F | Full Of Oats | Henrietta C Knight | Jim Culloty | 33/1 |
| F | Don't Light Up | Venetia Williams | Robert Thornton | 100/1 |
| F | Straight Talk | Paul Nicholls | Joe Tizzard | 50/1 |
| F | Nuaffe | P A Fahy | T Mitchell | 100/1 |
| F | Back Bar I (IRE) | A L T Moore | Tommy Treacy | 100/1 |
| F | Smith's Band (IRE) | Mrs J Pitman | R Dunwoody | 12/1 |
| PU | Mugoni Beach | M C Pipe | G Tormey | 100/1 |
| PU | Grange Brake | Nigel Twiston-Davies | D Walsh | 100/1 |
| PU | Bishops Hall | R H Alner | M Richards | 50/1 |
| PU | Scribbler I | G M McCourt | D Fortt | 100/1 |
| PU | Lo Stregone | Tom Tate | Graham Bradley | 14/1 |
| PU | Dextra Dove | Simon Earle | C Maude | 33/1 |
| PU | Feathered Gale | A L T Moore | F Woods | 16/1 |
| PU | River Mandate | T A Forster | Andrew Thornton | 50/1 |
| PU | Go Ballistic | John O'Shea | Mick Fitzgerald | 7/1 |
| UR | Glemot (IRE) | Kim Bailey | S McNeill | 50/1 |
| UR | Spuffington | J T Gifford | Philip Hide | 100/1 |
| UR | Wylde Hide | A L T Moore | Charlie Swan | 11/1 |
| UR | Celtic Abbey I | Venetia Williams | Richard Johnson | 66/1 |
Legacy of Lord Gyllene and the 1997 Grand National
In pure racing terms, Lord Gyllene’s victory stands as one of the clearest‑cut National wins of the modern era, combining front‑running tactics, accurate jumping and relentless stamina.
His bold approach showed that, in the right hands, attacking the fences and controlling the tempo could still be a winning formula over Aintree’s marathon trip, even as the race continued to evolve in terms of safety and style.
After the National he made only limited further racecourse appearances and never ran in the race again, with injuries eventually curtailing his career.
Lord Gyllene lived to the age of 28 and died in December 2016, long retired from racing but still fondly remembered by connections and racegoers who witnessed his big day.
Trainer Steve Brookshaw later reflected that his own “15 minutes of fame” came from being associated with a horse whose defining win was both overshadowed and enhanced by the extraordinary circumstances around it.
The 1997 Grand National remains a one‑off in the race’s long history: the only running postponed by a bomb threat, a Monday afternoon National that showcased both the vulnerability and the resilience of the sport, and a front‑running masterclass by a New Zealand‑bred outsider who rose perfectly to the occasion.
