The Autumn Meeting 1946 - 1965

Run over three days in late October/early November, the Autumn meeting was a mixed affair with flat races providing most of the "entertainment" (used in the loosest sense of the word although the Liverpool Autumn Cup was a fairly competitive end of season handicap). Three hurdle races were staged at the meeting, the Prospect, November and Abbeystead Hurdles (the latter for three year olds was re-introduced in 1962 having been dropped from the programme during the fifties). These events, however paled into insignificance when compared to the races run over the National course. The Molyneux Chase was run on the Thurday, the Becher Chase on the Friday and the Grand Sefton on the Saturday. Having looked at the form books for these meetings it seems that the weather in Liverpool over the first week in November was usually very misty and quite often little could be seen from the stands. However, whatever the weather the events over the National fences provided some great races. Following Mrs Tophams announcement in July 1964 that she was to sell the course for development the meeting was on borrowed time. It was staged as planned as part of Aintrees final season in 1964-65 and as the legal challenges to the sale by Lord Sefton kept Aintree open, Mrs Topham as a "goodwill gesture" (her words not mine) staged a truncated two day meeting in 1965. All six National Hunt races were kept with the Becher being run after the Grand Sefton on the Saturday. And that was it, the meeting disappeared although it was resurrected as a one day affair for one year only in 1972. It is tragic that the meeting was long gone by the time the likes of Red Rum graced the Aintree turf. Just think how many other races Rummy could have won at Aintree had the Autumn meeting been around in his lifetime.