“Divot repairs are a priority and need to be completed quickly”
is sometimes required, we have a 50m boom and a 30m boom with hose reels on the stands side and a rain gun in the country part of the course. Water is pumped from 3 boreholes within the course site. We can apply around 10mm over the whole course in 24 hours. We use a wetting agent called Monsoon which has proved to be very effective. The 2006 Grand National Course Programme
January - Cold and dry, rainfall was minimal, less than 15mm, compared to last year when we had between 35 and 40mm. The combination of cold and dry weather meant we did not have to mow the grass at all during the month. We spent three weeks reconstructing the Foinavon fence, replacing the centre core structure. We will complete the dressing up with spruce in March. We continued with the hydo-mulching, even though temperatures were low, we want to build up the seed bank ready for when the temperatures rise.
February - an application of one of my liquid fertilizer concoctions, a 12.5 :15 :9 NPK plus amino acid, seaweed extracts, humic acid and chelated iron, all
contribute to help the establishment of our newly sown grasses. The aim is to bring on the new seedlings, promote root growth and improve sward density. At this time of the year I do not want to promote quick growth. Continued mowing at 75mm to promote tillering. Subject to favourable temperatures, towards the end of the month we increase the height of cut to 89mm. Also, we make a start on refurbishing all the Chase fences, replacing and adding new birch wood materials.
March - Being on sandy soil, ground temperatures can warm up quickly. Once above the desired 10 degrees centigrade we begin to see some significant grass growth. Mowing frequency is 1 or 2 times per week, increasing our height of cut to
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the desired 100mm. To help promote growth we usually apply a standard spring/ summer NPK 9:7:7 granular fertilizer to the whole course. One of our last jobs is to spruce dress the Grand National fences. The spruce is sourced from the Lake District and starts to arrive in mid March; we leave it as late as possible to ensure the highest quality and with the minimum time for it to dry out. Around 230 cubic metres arrive 3 weeks before the meeting. It is delivered to the side of each fence, then the “fence dressers” get to work, it is a specialised operation and unique to Aintree. We have 3 teams of 2 “dressers”. I tried it myself once and failed miserably. I leave it to the professionals. As with all disciplines of groundsmanship, the weather can make or break us. Sometimes you think you are getting ahead of it then, all of a sudden, nature will drag you back and remind you who really is the boss. However, the team will be working tirelessly and I am confident that we will be able to produce a consistent, safe surface for the world’s greatest and most famous steeplechasing event.
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