The 2012 Becher Chase was run at Aintree Racecourse on the 8 December 2012. The race is run over 3 miles and 2 furlongs over the Grand National fences. The 2010 winner Black Apalachi finished second in the 2011 Grand National. Silver Birch (2004/2007), Amberleigh House (2001/2004) and Earth Summitt (1998/1998) are the only horses to complete the Becher Chase/ Grand national double.
The remarkable 14 year old Hello Bud gave trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies a complete set of wins in the races run over the Grand National fences in landing the 2012 renewal.
Becher Chase Result 2012
| Pos | Dist | Horse | Trainer | Age | Wt | Jockey | SP |
| 1st | 14 Hello Bud (IRE) | N A Twiston-Davies | 14 | 10-0 t | S Twiston-Davies | 14/1 | |
| Led until 13th (bechers brook), led before 2 out, clung on gamely | |||||||
| 2nd | nk | 2 Join Together (IRE) | P F Nicholls | 7 | 11-4 | D A Jacob | 5/1 |
| Held up in mid-division, headway approaching 8th, switched right after elbow, stayed on well, went 2nd towards finish, just held opened 6/1 £2400-£400 | |||||||
| 3rd | 1¾ | 3 Big Fella Thanks | T R George | 10 | 11-1 t | P J Brennan | 7/1 |
| Held up towards rear, not fluent 11th, mistake next, hampered 15th (canal turn), headway 17th, stayed on flat, lost 2nd towards finish | |||||||
| 4th | nse | 5 Swing Bill (FR) | D Pipe | 11 | 10-12 | Conor O’farrell | 20/1 |
| Tracked leaders, ridden 2 out, pressing for 2nd from elbow, stayed on, held towards finish | |||||||
| 5th | ¾ | 10 In Compliance (IRE) | D T Hughes | 12 | 10-4 | N P Madden | 10/1 |
| Held up in rear, hampered 1st, headway 8th, mistake 11th, lost place when mistake 13th (bechers brook), mistake next (foinavon), headway after 3 out, held by leaders towards finish opened 9/1 | |||||||
| 6th | 12 | 13 Gullible Gordon (IRE) | P Bowen | 9 | 10-0 | Ryan Mania | 25/1 |
| Tracked leaders, led 13th (bechers brook), headed before 2 out, no extra flat opened 28/1 | |||||||
| 7th | 7 | 8 Poker De Sivola (FR) | Ferdy Murphy | 9 | 10-6 | J Reveley | 25/1 |
| Mid-division on inside, left 6th 3 out, never on terms, no extra last | |||||||
| PU | 1 BallaBriggs (IRE) | D McCain Jnr | 11 | 11-12 | J M Maguire | 10/1 | |
| Prominent, blundered 11th, lost place 14th (foinavon), struggling 3 out, rallied on long run to 2 out, soon weakened and pulled up opened 9/1 | |||||||
| PU | 6 West End Rocker (IRE) | A King | 10 | 10-12 | R Thornton | 4/1f | |
| Mid-division on outside, reminder after 5th, soon lost place, mistake 9th, pulled up before 17th opened 6/1 touched 9/2 £3000-£500 £2750-£500 £2000-£360 £1500-£300(x5) £900-£200(x2) | |||||||
| PU | 11 Midnight Haze | K C Bailey | 10 | 10-4 | D C Costello | ### | |
| Held up towards rear, hit 9th, remote 10th after 3 out, pulled up before next opened 20/1 | |||||||
| PU | 15 Minella Theatre (IRE) | Mrs L Hill | 9 | 10-0 pt | David Bass | 16/1 | |
| Held up towards rear, headway approaching 8th, lost place before 14th (foinavon), tailed off 3 out, soon pulled up opened 18/1 | |||||||
| PU | 16 Ballyvesey (IRE) | P Bowen | 7 | 10-0 vt | J E Moore | 33/1 | |
| Prominent, lost place after 7th, behind 16th (valentines), tailed off 4 out, soon pulled up | |||||||
| F | 4 Problema Tic (FR) | D Pipe | 6 | 10-12 | T Scudamore | 8/1 | |
| Held up towards rear, jumped slowly 3rd, headway 11th, 4th when fell 17th opened 10/1 | |||||||
| F | 7 Mumbles Head (IRE) | P Bowen | 11 | 10-10 | T J O’Brien | 16/1 | |
| Fell 1st | |||||||
| F | 12 Fabalu (IRE) | D McCain Jnr | 10 | 10-1 b | Brian Harding | 20/1 | |
| Prominent, mistake 7th (water), lost several places before next, struggling in 6th when fell 3 out opened 16/1 | |||||||
| UR | 9 Any Currency (IRE) | M Keighley | 9 | 10-4 e | Aidan Coleman | 12/1 | |
| Tracked leaders, 4th when hit 15th (canal turn) and unseated rider |
Share your thoughts on the race on our Becher Chase 2012 thread.
Becher Chase Trends
- Paul Nicholls has trained 3 of the last 8 winners
- Dessie Hughes has trained 2 of the last 4 winners
- 8 of the last 10 winners were aged 8-10
- no 11 year old has won in the last decade (17 ran, 5 were placed)
- just 2 favourites have won in the last decade
- the last 5 winners were priced at 10-1 or less
- 5 of the last 6 winners were officially rated between 137 and 148
- the last 10 winners all finished in first 5 on their last completed start
Becher Chase Winners 2002-2011
| Year | Horse | Age | WT | Jockey | Trainer | SP | FAV | OR |
| 2011 | West End Rocker | 9 | 10-10 | W Hutchinson | Alan King | 10-1 | 6 | 137 |
| 2010 | Hello Bud | 12 | 10-5 | S Twiston-Davies | N Twiston-Davies | 15-2 | 1 | 133 |
| 2009 | Vic Venturi | 9 | 11-12 | P Flood | Dessie Hughes | 7-1 | 5 | 148 |
| 2008 | Black Apalachi | 9 | 10-5 | D O’Regan | Dessie Hughes | 15-2 | 6 | 138 |
| 2007 | Mr Pointment | 8 | 11-5 | S Thomas | Paul Nicholls | 15-2 | 2,F | 146 |
| 2006 | Eurotrek | 10 | 11-7 | L Heard | Paul Nicholls | 25-1 | 11 | 147 |
| 2005 | Garvivonnian | 10 | 10-4 | G Cotter | Ned Mitchell | 33-1 | UR | 130 |
| 2004 | Silver Birch | 7 | 10-1 | R Walsh | Paul Nicholls | 4-1 | 1 | 123 |
| 2003 | Clan Royal | 8 | 10-12 | L Cooper | Jonjo O’Neill | 11-2 | 3 | 126 |
| 2002 | Ardent Scout | 10 | 9-11 | D Elsworth | Sue Smith | 14-1 | 2 | 123 |
