Officially registered as the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase, the race name now honours the greatest jockey to have ever straddled a horse. The Grade 3 handicap chase is run over 2 miles 110 yards and there are 14 fences to be jumped. The Grand Annual is the oldest race at the Festival, and it is also the oldest chase in the present National Hunt calendar. It was first run in April 1834, and it was initially contested over three miles of open country at Andoversford, near Cheltenham. The race was discontinued in the 1860s, but it was revived at the turn of the century. During the early 1900s it took place at several different venues, including Melton Mowbray, Leicester and Warwick. It returned to Cheltenham in 1913. The name of Johnny Henderson (1920–2003), a banker and racehorse owner, was added to the race's title in 2005. Henderson, the father of trainer Nicky, realised in the early 1960s that the racecourse at Cheltenham was attracting the interest of property developers. To safeguard its future, and that of the Festival, Henderson and other Jockey Club members formed the Racecourse Holdings Trust, and raised £240,000 to purchase the venue. The running order of the races at the Cheltenham Festival was altered slightly in 2009, and the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase is now the last event on the final day. There have been 2 dual winners, Top Twenty and Dulwich, Graham Bradley is the leading jockey with 4 wins and Fulke Walwyn's 3 winners make him the most successful trainer. A race regularly targetted by Mr Henderson, as it bears his father's name, there wasn't a dry eye in the house in 2012 when Bellvano led home a 1-2-4 for the master of Seven Barrows, given the greatest ride ever seen at Cheltenham by Paul Carberry and carrying my Euros at 20/1 . A total of 65 entries this year with top weight allotted to Top Gamble on 159, followed by Somersby (157) and Mr. Mole and The Game Changer (155). Current favourite is last year's winner Next Sensation, trained by Michael Scudamore, who is just 1lb higher than last year's winning mark and looks to have been aimed at this for some time. Latest prices from Oddschecker Entries and weights
