1989 Grand National label owned by the son in law of Little Polveir's trainer, Toby Balding 1989 Grand National 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. 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. The
Richard Johnson (jockey) Richard Johnson (jockey) Richard Johnson (born 21 July 1977 in Hereford) is an English National Hunt jockey. Johnson comes from a racing family with his father being an amateur jockey and his mother, Sue Johnson, a successful trainer. Johnson became Champion Conditional Jockey in the 1995/96 season, at the age of 18. Johnson's first winner under rules was on Rusty Bridge at Hereford in April 1994. He has had great success at the Cheltenham Festival. His first win at Cheltenham was on Anzum in the 1999 Stayers' Hurdle. He won the 2000 Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup with Looks Like Trouble