how about reviving the valentines chase?

​Until I indulged in a little research, a rare occurrence for me, I assumed the Topham Trophy had morphed out of the old and sadly defunct Valentine Chase, both being 2-mile 6-furlong races. I was wrong. Sadly, as a result of my stupid brain, I am wrong a lot of the time these days and must remember not to invest money on the strength of my memory.
Whereas the Becher Chase is named after the amateur jockey who fell back into the ditch at what is now famously known as ‘Bechers’, the fence after the Canal Turn, ‘Valentines’, is named after a horse of the same name. Valentine took part in the Grand National of 1840, won by Jerry, from Arthur, with Valentine a gallant third. His jockey, Alan Power, had placed a substantial bet that he would be in the lead at the notorious stone-wall, a fence situated where the water-jump now resides. He won the bet. He was still in the lead at Bechers and the Canal Turn, yet for reasons only the horse could explain, Valentine took exception to the next fence and thought to refuse, changing his mind at the final second and producing an astonishing, gymnastic-type twisting leap to defy the expectations of the spectators to clear the fence with his jockey still in the saddle. Which, of course, means that Valentines is named in honour of a successful, memorable clearance of the fence, whereas Bechers is celebrated for a jockey’s abject failure to achieve anything close to the same.
There used to be 9-races over the Grand National fences, as opposed to 5 nowadays. The lost races being The Champion Chase, run between 1881-1950, Stanley Chase 1893-1952, Molyneux Chase 1926-1965 and the Valentine Chase 1885-1952. Between 1965 and 2013 the Becher Chase could also be added to the list but thankfully someone had the common-sense idea to revive the race. We all owe that man/woman a drink. I only wish it would be the main race of the weekend and I.T.V. could set up camp there.
In its 67-year history, the Valentine took many forms, though the distance hardly altered. In its final appearance in the form-book the race produced a dead-heat for first place. Between 1922 and 1935 it was restricted to amateur riders, a period when it is said the race held the greatest interest. Prize money was poor and the amateurs invoked the Corinthian, never-say-die, spirit that allowed the race a certain gravitas.
Unlike the Topham, the Valentine was never a handicap, always a conditions race, with the conditions changing on a quite regular basis. At one point the race was restricted to horses that had not won a race worth £500, a condition that seemed designed to limit the calibre of horse eligible.
Look, when it comes to Aintree and the Grand National fences, I am both a touch naïve and a little bit of a romantic. The Grand National fences of today are mere impressions of what used to face the brave horses and intrepid jockeys of yesteryear, yet every year the armchair viewer/spectator is transported back to the gladiatorial days of Golden Miller, Royal Tan and Wyndburgh. I admit that bringing any of the lost Aintree races back from the dead could not be entertained if the fences were as mighty as once they were and I am sure when the Grand Sefton and Bechers Chases were revived in 2013, come the day there were a lot of cross-fingers and prayers to be seen and heard amongst the racecourse executives. 
The fences are not as mighty and unforgiving as in times past and consideration should be given to reviving the Valentine Chase. All the present races over the Grand National fences are handicaps and a conditions chase could possibly attract a better-class of horse. It would be senseless to propose reinstating into the race programme the Champion Chase as it would never in a million-years attract a standard of horse that could in anyway be described as a ‘champion’. Yet the Valentine, its conditions framed to suit horses that perhaps in time might come back in April to contest the Grand National, would sit uniquely in the race programme.
I contest that too many horses get into the Grand National on ratings that bear little comparison to their form at the time of entry. I realise that the history of the Grand National is littered with horses that loved the place one-year and yet seemed to fall out of love with it the next. Golden Miller is a prime example. A part of the problem is there is not enough races over the Grand National fences for trainers to find out if their horses will take to the place and only one over a distance of ground anywhere near comparable to the big race itself.
If asked (highly unlikely) I would run the Grand Sefton on Old Roan Chase Day; two races for completely different types of horse, and run the Valentine on the same day as the Becher, titling the meeting ‘Grand National Trials Day’. As with the Grand Sefton and Old Roan, the Valentine and Becher chases would be for two different types of horse, though run over the same distance.
I would argue the race programme is this country lacks variety, improvisation and is too formulaic. A conditions chase over the Grand National fences, established to encourage trainers to be bolder in their outlook and to help the Grand National attract the right type of horse, would be something a little bit different, perhaps a throwback to the blue-remembered good old days when horse racing was truly king.