Crisp

Foaled in Australia on 1 August 1963, Crisp was bred by Sir Thomas Chester Manifold. He raced for Thomas Chester Manifold Jnr. and was by Rose Argent out of Wheat Germ, whose sire was Trigo.

Crisp began his career in Australia under the care of Des Judd before moving to Britain, where he was trained by Fred Winter. That transfer gave his career an unusual international shape: he first established himself over Australian fences, then developed into one of the outstanding British-trained chasers of the early 1970s.

A bay Thoroughbred gelding, Crisp became known as “The Black Kangaroo,” a nickname that reflected his Australian origins and his exceptional reputation as a jumper. His career eventually comprised 41 starts, from which he recorded 20 wins, seven seconds and three thirds.

Crisp’s emergence as a major steeplechaser came in Australia. Trained there by Des Judd, he developed into a leading jumper and won the Hiskens Steeplechase in 1969.

He returned to win the race again in 1970, confirming that his first success had not been an isolated high point. The two victories formed the central achievement of his Australian career and established his standing before he was transferred to Britain.

The Hiskens double also introduced qualities that remained central to Crisp’s reputation: speed, bold front-running and fluent jumping. Although he would later compete successfully over much longer distances, his strongest British form identified him as an elite two-mile chaser.

Crisp’s successive Hiskens Steeplechase victories provided the foundation for everything that followed. Winning in 1969 established him among Australia’s notable jumpers, while retaining the race in 1970 demonstrated sustained superiority.

These performances matter within the broader arc of his career because they preceded his move to Britain. By the time he entered Fred Winter’s stable, Crisp was already a proven steeplechaser rather than an untested import. His later British successes extended an established record of excellence over fences.

The Hiskens Steeplechase subsequently became part of his continuing Australian legacy. The race is now known as the Crisp Steeplechase, preserving his association with the country in which his career began.

Crisp reached the summit of British two-mile chasing in the 1971 Queen Mother Champion Chase. Victory in the championship contest confirmed his status as an elite performer and supplied the most important win of his British career.

The race suited the qualities for which he was renowned. Crisp had the pace required of a top two-mile chaser, while his bold, fluent fencing allowed him to sustain a front-running approach. His success showed that the Australian champion could excel against Britain’s leading specialist chasers under championship conditions.

The Champion Chase victory is essential to understanding Crisp’s full stature. His later Grand National performance became the most famous run of his career, but the 1971 result established that he was already a champion in his principal division. He was not fundamentally a staying chaser whose reputation depended on one heroic defeat; he was a proven speed chaser who later carried his ability into one of racing’s most demanding tests of stamina.

The 1973 Grand National became Crisp’s defining performance despite ending in defeat. Ridden by Richard Pitman, he started at 9/1 as joint-favourite and carried 12 stone. His principal rival in the result, Red Rum, received 23 lb from him.

Crisp adopted the front-running tactics that had characterized his finest performances. He led for most of the race, using his speed and accomplished jumping to establish a commanding advantage. Even at the final fence he remained approximately 15 lengths clear.

The long run from the last fence to the winning post changed the outcome. Red Rum steadily reduced the leader’s advantage and caught him near the finish, winning by three-quarters of a length. The narrow margin, combined with the 23 lb difference in their weights, made Crisp’s second place one of the most celebrated losing performances in Grand National history.

Its significance rests on more than the closeness of the result. Crisp was an outstanding two-mile chaser attempting an extreme staying test under 12 stone, yet he nearly defeated the horse who would become inseparable from Grand National history. His front-running display placed his greatest strengths on full view: pace, accurate jumping, courage under a heavy burden and the ability to stretch a major field over Aintree’s fences.

The race also created a lasting association between Crisp and Red Rum. Red Rum won the contest, but Crisp’s immense weight-carrying effort ensured that the runner-up retained a distinct place in the story of the 1973 National.

Crisp’s career linked two important jumping traditions. Des Judd prepared him during the Australian phase in which he won successive Hiskens Steeplechases, while Fred Winter trained him through his leading British performances, including the Champion Chase, Gainsborough Chase and Grand National.

His racing style was one of his defining characteristics. A bold front-runner and elite jumper, Crisp was most naturally associated with speed over approximately two miles. He could seize control of a race through pace and fluent fencing, forcing his opponents to pursue rather than allowing them to dictate terms.

Yet the 1973 Grand National revealed another dimension. Crisp could carry substantial weight and sustain his front-running method over a staying distance far beyond his recognized two-mile specialism. Although Red Rum ultimately caught him, the performance greatly enlarged Crisp’s reputation rather than diminishing it.

His Timeform rating of 173 provides a numerical measure of that standing. It sits alongside a record of 20 victories from 41 starts and major successes achieved in two countries.

Crisp died in 1984, leaving a reputation built on both championship victory and an extraordinary defeat. His 1971 Queen Mother Champion Chase established him as one of the leading two-mile chasers of his era, while his dual Hiskens Steeplechase victories ensured that his achievements remained rooted in Australian jumps racing.

His name was preserved in Australia through the Crisp Steeplechase. In 2013 he was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, formal recognition of a career that crossed hemispheres and reached the highest level of steeplechasing.

The 1973 Grand National remains the performance most closely associated with him. Crisp did not win, but carrying 23 lb more than Red Rum, leading for most of the race and retaining a large advantage at the final fence made his narrow defeat an enduring benchmark for weight-carrying excellence at Aintree.

That run can overshadow the breadth of his record, but Crisp’s legacy is larger than a single afternoon. He was a 20-time winner, a dual Hiskens champion, a Queen Mother Champion Chase winner and a top-class front-running jumper whose ability extended from elite two-mile competition to the severe demands of the Grand National.

• Crisp horse profile
• Racing Post: Crisp’s 1973 Grand National
• Racing Post: Crisp profile
• 1973 Grand National
• Racing and Sports: Crisp
• Pedigree Query: Crisp
• Timeform: Crisp pedigree and progeny profile
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisp