The annual race during the
2023 Grand National grey horses and odds
There are FOUR grey horses in contention for the 2023 Grand National: Gaillard Du Mesnil 12/1. Vanillier 20/1. Coko Beach 25/1.
The three Grand National grey winners we've seen in the race – Neptune Collonges (2012), The Lamb (1868 & 1871) and Nicolaus Silver (1961) – have become more famous for the colour of their skin than actually winning the race.
Some horses with a particular type of dun hair coat known as a "blue dun", grullo, or "mouse" dun appear to be a solid gray. However, this color is caused by the dun gene acting on a black base coat, and horses who are dun have all hairs the same color; there is no intermingling of white and dark hairs.
Grey Horses Have Higher Risk Of Developing Illness
From the age of 10 onwards they are genetically more likely to develop tumours on their skin, called melanomas, due to a biochemical link between coat colour and this illness.
In Grand National history there have been just three grey horses that have conquered the world's greatest Steeple Chase a total of four times. The Lamb was the first grey horse to claim victory in the Grand National in 1868. Winning again a few years later proved that a grey winning the race was no fluke.
The result of this is that greys are statistically far less likely to win races than none-greys. The fact that they standout so much in the paddocks and on the racecourses around the country isn't a surprise, given that only about 3% of all thoroughbred racehorses are greys.
Equally true is that a Greying horse will always produce at least 50% Grey foals (and 50% non-grey) if it has ONE Grey allele, but if it has TWO Grey alleles it will produce 100% Greying foals.
In Western riding, sorrels, bays, and buckskins are preferred; in English riding disciplines, bay, grey, and chestnut colors are considered the best – but the rarest color across all breeds is true-white or brindle. To a layman, a horse's color may simply be a cosmetic detail.
Our research found that about 8% of horses are grey, this makes grey horses unusal but not rare. Grey horses are unusual because, due to how color fades slowly, a grey horse is only visibly grey for 3 to 4 years of their life. Before they turn grey they are generally the base coat color they were born with.
Horses come in all shapes, colors and sizes. Some have pronounced blazes or unique patterns. But most of the horses — and winners — in the Kentucky Derby tend to be bay or chestnut. Only eight gray or roan horses have ever won the first leg of the Triple Crown.
GREY WINNERS
Three different grey horses have won the Grand National four times: The Lamb (1868 and 1871), Nicolaus Silver (1961) Neptune Collonges (2012).
There are a total of FOUR grey horses running in the Grand National 2023. They are Vanillier (16-1), Gaillard du Mesnil (12-1), Eva's Oskar (40-1), and Coko Beach (33-1). The last time a grey horse won the Grand National was in 2012 - when Neptune Collonges won on a stunning photo finish.
The great majority of white horses carry a dominant mutation that results in rapid greying with age. A "Grey" horse is born coloured (black, brown or chestnut) but the greying process starts very early in life -- during its first year.
Dapple grey horses have a grey coat color with lighter hair created patterns across their bodies. The dapple pattern usually visually appears as star shapes or circles.
The Akhal-Teke horse is considered to be one of the most beautiful horse breeds in the world due to it's metallic-like shine to it's fur, giving this breed the appearance of golden and bronze statues almost. In Turkmenistan, this breed is the national horse breed and there is even known as 'the golden horse'.
A thoroughbred named Fusaichi Pegasus was sold for $70 million in an auction, making him the most expensive horse ever to be sold.
Rose gray or rose grey may refer to: A horse with a grey coat with a pinkish tinge.
Grey horses are born normal coloured and slowly “lose” colour over time – they first go grey, and eventually white. At birth, foals that will go grey are often very intensely coloured (hyperpigmented). Grey is actually caused by a malfunction in the pigment cells.
Gray is dominant, therefore a single copy of the gray allele will cause a horse to turn gray. If a horse has two copies of gray, all offspring of this horse will be gray.
The Mongol Derby is the longest and toughest horse race in the world. We don't say that lightly. A decade after launching the race that title is still being backed up by riders year after year. In 1224 man of the millennium Chinggis Khaan set up the world's first long-distance postal transmission system.
Bay is the dominant phenotype (the physical expression of a genetic trait) between the two, and its genotype is expressed by either E/Aa or E/AA. Black is the recessive coat color, meaning it is always homozygous and expressed asE/aa. All other equine coat colors and patterns stem from these base coat colors.
A gray Thoroughbred is often a head-turner, not only for its sterling coat but for its relative rarity. Comprising only a small percentage of the breed, they are outnumbered by their bay, brown and chestnut stablemates.