| Grand National | |
 | |
| Location | Aintree Racecourse |
|---|---|
| Date | 8 April 1989 |
| Winning horse |  Little Polveir |
| Starting price | 28/1 |
| Jockey |  Jimmy Frost |
| Trainer |  Toby Balding |
| Owner | Edward Harvey |
| Conditions | Heavy |
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 1989 Grand National in full (BBC) | |
| Replay and analysis of the 1989 Grand National (BBC) |
The 1989 Grand National (officially known as the Seagram Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 143rd renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 8 April 1989.[1]
The race was won in a time of 10 minutes 6.9 seconds and by a distance of 7 lengths by Irish 12-year-old Little Polveir, ridden by jockey Jimmy Frost. West Tip was second and The Thinker finished third. Fourteen of the 40 runners completed the course.[1]
The winner had been sold by a four-way partnership six weeks before the race to Edward Harvey.[2] It was Little Polveir's fourth attempt at the Grand National; he was sent off at odds of 28/1.[3] Jockey Frost's son, Hadden, attempted to emulate his father's victory 22 years later by riding Calgary Bay in the 2011 Grand National; he fell at the fourth fence.[4] Jimmy Frost's daughter, Bryony, then rode in the 2018 Grand National on Milansbar; she came in fifth place.
There were two equine fatalities during the race, both at Becher's Brook. The deaths came two years after the dramatic fatal fall of the popular grey Dark Ivy at Becher's in 1987. Following an outcry, Aintree took significant measures to reduce the severity of the fence.
The main race was seen by a record Grand National crowd at Aintree, with 74,189 people in attendance, over 8,500 more than the previous year, and it would not be until the Monday race of 1997 that a larger crowd would attend the main race day.[5]
- ^ a b "Results From The 3.20 Race At Aintree | 8 April 1989". Racing Post. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ "Grand National History 1989 – 1980". The-grand-national.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 August 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ "Little Polveir 1989 Grand National". Grand-national.me.uk. 13 March 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ Horse Racing. "Hadden Frost gets chance to emulate his father in the Grand National". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ "THE 2013 JOHN SMITH'S GRAND NATIONAL THURSDAY APRIL 4 – SATURDAY APRIL 6 MEDIA GUIDE" (PDF). 2 February 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2014.[permanent dead link]