Manifesto Novices' Chase Manifesto Novices' Chase The Manifesto Novices' Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Aintree over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs , and during its running there are sixteen fences to be jumped. The race is for novice chasers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Grand National meeting in early April. The event is named after Manifesto, a horse which ran eight times in the Grand National between 1895 and 1904. He won the
1849 Grand National the third fence on the second circuit, which resulted in several competitors being knocked out of the race. The custom among riders at the time would have been to continue in the race unless impossible to do so, regardless of how many times they had met with mishap. Therefore, many of the competitors would have been remounted once or more during the race, or put to fences again after refusing. Only those horses that had been injured, run loose after falling, persistently refused an obstacle or had riders too injured or fatigued to continue would not have completed the course.