For over one hundred years the name Topham was inextricably linked
to the Grand National, even though not a single runner in it ever
carried their colours, and no member of the family ever rode over
Aintree's famous fences. Yet their contribution to Grand National
history was equally as important as all the heroes and heroines,
both human and equine, who have thrilled successive generations of
racegoers as they have done battle each spring to win the world's
greatest steeplechase. For the Tophams were the promoters of the
race, responsible for drawing up the race conditions, developing
and maintaining the course itself, and, for much of the period,
compiling the handicap as well. Without them, there simply would
have been no Grand National.
Edward William Topham, known as 'The Wizard' was the founder of the
dynasty. He was the first handicapper of the Grand National, and in
1848 he took over the management of Aintree racecourse and became
the sole promoter of the Grand National. So successful was he that
the family dynasty he established remained in control of Aintree
through three generations for one hundred and twenty-five years
until his grand-daughter-in-law, Mrs. Mirabel Topham, sold the
course in 1973. So long an association of one family with a premier
sporting event is unusual if not quite unparalleled. Yet although
many books have been written about the Grand National, few of them
have made more than a cursory reference to the family who promoted
and maintained it - at least until Mirabel Topham began to hit the
headlines in the 1950s and '60s. This neglect is undeserved, for
the story of the Tophams is as colourful as any of the horses or
jockeys who have taken part in therace they were responsible for
staging.
Each generation of Tophams who ran Aintree faced major challenges,
including sustained criticisms of the course and the race
conditions. How they faced up to these challenges and fought to
maintain the prestige and the appeal of the National is a major
theme of this book. In some respects the story of Tophams follows
that of many family firms, being created by the first generation,
consolidated by the second, and dissipated by the third. Yet in
other respects it does not conform to this pattern, and had the
fierce boardroom battle that broke out in the 1930s gone the other
way, then the outcome could have been very different. For the last
forty years of Tophams' control of Aintree the larger than life
character of Mirabel Topham played a crucial role in determining
the destiny of the course and its most famous race. This book
attempts to strike a balance between those who have sought to blame
all Aintree's problems on her dictatorial and confrontational
style, and those who will not hear a word said against her.
This is the first book to offer a full account of the Topham
family's long association with Aintree. Written largely from
contemporary sources it provides much new information on Aintree's
colourful and often controversial past, as seen through the eyes of
those who were responsible for staging the world's most famous
steeplechase.
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