The Becher Chase was introduced by Aintree Racecourse in 1992 and has become an integral part of the National Hunt calendar ever since.
Named in the memory of Captain Martin Becher - a well known jockey from the 1800's who subsequently had the famous Becher's Brook named after him, the race was upgraded to a Grade 3 in 2014, and understandably has become a natural trial for the Grand National itself.
The race is run over the Grand National fences over a distance just short of three miles and two furlongs, with trainers using the event to experiment with their horses over the National fences, with those that do well often returning in the spring for the main Grand National Festival.
No horse has won the Grand National directly after winning the Becher Chase, however, Amberleigh House took the Becher Chase in 2001, then tasted Grand National glory in 2004, while Silver Birch won the Becher Chase in 2004 and three years later won the National.
Earth Summit won the race in 1998 following his Grand National win the previous April.
Many horses from this December feature also go on to place in the National, or run well in the Topham Chase, which is also run over the unique Aintree fences.
Some horses even figure in the Cheltenham betting for the following season on the back of their showing at Aintree.
Popular Becher Chase Winners
The inaugural winner in 1992 was Kildimo, trained by Sue Smith.
The gelding, who had regularly broken the hearts of many punters in top staying chases, proved to be a reformed character on the day when winning at Aintree's first non-Grand National meeting for 20 years.
Hello Bud, who won the race for a second time at the grand old age of 14 in 2012, virtually brought the house down, while course specialists such as Black Apalachi, Oscar Time, Vieux Lion Rouge and Walk In The Mill were all extremely popular with the betting public at large.
Becher Chase Winners
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2020 - (7:17.12) Vieux Lion Rouge 11-y-o 10-7 12/1 (Connor O’Farrell/David Pipe)
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2019 - (7:03.10) Walk In The Mill 9-y-o 10-8 8/1 (James Best/Robert Walford)
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2018 - (6:52.40) Walk In The Mill 8-y-o 10-3 10/1 (James Best/Robert Walford)
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2017 - (7:18.90) Blaklion 8-y-o 11-6 7/4F (Gavin Sheehan/Nigel Twiston-Davies)
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2016 - (6:51.10) Vieux Lion Rouge 7-y-o 10-9 8/1F (Tom Scudamore/David Pipe)
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2015 - (7:09.20) Highland Lodge 9-y-o 10-0 20/1 (Henry Brooke/James Moffatt)
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2014 - (6:54.40) Oscar Time 13-y-o 10-12 25/1 (Mr Sam Waley-Cohen/ Robert Waley-Cohen)
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2013 - (6:56.30) Chance Du Roy 9-y-o 10-6 14/1 (Tom O'Brien/Philip Hobbs)
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2012 - (7:22.20) Hello Bud 14-y-o 10-0 14/1 (Sam Twiston-Davies/Nigel Twiston-Davies)
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2011 - (7:15.60) West End Rocker 9-y-o 10-10 10/1 (Wayne Hutchinson/Alan King)
Key Becher Chase Statistics
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Age: 9 of the last 10 winners were aged 9 or older. Vieux Lion Rouge was 7 when winning in 2016.
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Price: 2 of the last 10 favourites have won, 4/10 winners came from the top three in the betting.
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Last Run: Just 1 of the last 10 winners won on their last run before the Becher Chase, 9/10 winners ran within the last 54 days.
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Previous Course Form: 9/10 winners had at least one previous run at Aintree, 3/10 winners had at least one previous win at Aintree.
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Previous Distance Form: 10/10 winners had at least 5 previous runs over 3 miles or longer, 10/10 had at least 1 previous win over 3 miles or longer.
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Previous Chase Form: 10/10 winners had at least 13 previous chase runs, 10/10 winners had at least 2 previous chase wins, 9/10 winners had at least 3 previous chase wins.
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Rating: 8/10 winners were rated 133 or higher.
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Graded Wins: 7/10 winners had at least one previous win in a Grade 1-3 race.
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Season Form: 9/10 winners had at least one run that season, 2/10 winners had at least one victory that season.
In the last 10 editions of the Becher Chase itself, 25% of starters have fallen/unseated and 19% have been pulled up.
Leading Trainers
The two leading trainers in the Becher Chase over the last 20 renewals are Paul Nicholls and Nigel Twiston-Davies who have both secured the race three times.
Paul Nicholls has scored with Silver Birch (2004), Eurotrek (2006) & Mr Pointment (2007), while Nigel Twiston-Davies’ winners were with Hello Bud (2010, 2012) and Blaklion (2017).
Other trainers with multiple wins in the Becher Chase are David Pipe (2 wins), Robert Walford (2 wins) and Sue Smith (2 wins).
Those trainers on the recent cold list for the Becher Chase include Peter Bowen and Donald McCain, despite their successes in the other races that are run over the Aintree fences.
Leading Jockeys
The two leading jockeys in the Becher Chase over the last 20 renewals are Sam Twiston-Davies and James Best who have won the race twice each.
Sam Twiston-Davies winners were with Hello Bud (2010, 2012) while James Best was successful with Walk In The Mill (2018, 2019).
At the time of writing Paddy Brennan is a jockey to avoid in the Becher Chase. He has had a total of ten rides in the race without recording any wins.
Becher Chase 'Trial' Races
Until 2021 there were no direct trials before the Becher Chase, however since the Grand Sefton Chase was shifted to an earlier point in the racing calendar, that race is highly likely to become a stepping stone to the Becher itself in the coming years.
Starting Prices
Looking at the starting prices over the last 20 renewals, the biggest priced winner was Amberleigh House at 33/1 in the horse racing betting for Donald McCain.
If you take a look at the statistics for horses at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals you will find that only four winning favourites have obliged in that time.
Our 2021 antepost NAP of the day is Mighty Thunder @ 12/1
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 16th November 2021
