This season has been geared entirely towards the National which is likely to be his farewell appearance

This season has been geared entirely towards the National, which is likely to be his farewell appearance.He has - intentionally - had only the one run, when he was pulled up behind Lo Stregone in the Greenalls Grand National Trial in February. In retrospect, of course, I am extremely glad he did."Party Politics has been with Gaselee at Saxon Cottage stables since he was a five-year-old, through two different owners. Stoddart did eventually sell his horse, in a private deal believed to be worth pounds 80,000, to David Thompson, owner of Cheveley Park, one of Newmarket's biggest Flat-racing studs. His breeder, David Stoddart, had some young horses coming through and wanted to cash in on Party Politics, who was one of the leading novices of the season.

But at his post-sale examination the vets decided he had wind problems and he came back to us. Ernie Taylor was successful with Newcastle in 1951 and Blackpool in 1953 (along with Stanley Matthews) but was part of the depleted Manchester United side which was beaten in the wake of the Munich disaster in 1958.As for Championship medals, I seem to recall hearing that David Batty, recently transferred to Newcastle United, turned down a Championship medal at Blackburn last season, not convinced that he had contributed sufficiently to the campaign to warrant the award. "The first we knew of something being wrong was when he was returned to us after being sold for 48,000 guineas at Doncaster Sales as a six-year-old," the 57-year-old Gaselee said. Before his National victory he had undergone surgery twice to correct a faulty larynx, then three years ago he had a tracheotomy, the insertion of a metal tube into his windpipe enabling air to bypass his nose and throat.The fact that he has overcome his various tribulations is a credit to the skill of those who work with him, notably Gaselee, his vet, Charlie McCartan, and his lad, Buck Rogers. Broken blood vessels, a damaged hock, and fragile, easily bruised feet have been the least of his problems - more serious have been breathing difficulties. He was a topical winner of the race in the general election year of 1992, completed a circuit in the void race a year later, and finished a fine second to Royal Athlete last time.His record is all the more laudable as he has suffered enough ailments and injuries over the years to fill a chapter in a veterinary manual. As he goes through his paces under the watchful eye of his trainer, Nick Gaselee, he draws in great gulps of early-morning air through a hole in his throat, his progress up the gallops being marked by a regular rasping sound. At the age of 12, Party Politics is the old man of this year's Grand National, but he has been there and done that.

The giant brown gelding is a horse you can hear coming long before he trips into sight. THE legendary 19th-century jockey Fred Archer once said, after partnering the equally legendary St Simon on the Newmarket gallops: "This isn't a horse, it's a blooming steam engine." Anyone standing on the downs above the Berkshire village of Lambourn watching Party Politics going through his paces might be forgiven for thinking the same thing, though perhaps for different reasons. And do they play in tangerine, like the real mighty Blackpool? - David Mason, ManchesterQ. Dumbarton were officially relegated from the Scottish League First Division last week with the season still some way to go. What is the earliest in the season that a club has suffered the same fate of reaching the point of relegation? - Philip Maugham, CirencesterIf you know the answers to any of these questions or have a question of your own, write to: Q & A, Sports Desk, Independent on Sunday, 1 Canada Square, London E14 5DL.Fax: 0171-293 2894. Has there been any incidence of sisters competing together at the highest level? - Jonathan Gosden, SouthamptonQ.

How did Sierra Leone's leading football team, Mighty Blackpool, get their name? They had five players in the national squad for the 1996 African Nations Cup finals. In the late 1860s the Marylebone Cricket Club appropriated them, leaving out the black - Geoff Hayman, Lytham St AnnesANSWERS PLEASEQ. The Charlton brothers have played football together for England, there are two Neville brothers in the England squad and the Bedser twins played cricket at international level. What is the longest distance any football team in the world has had to travel to fulfil an away league fixture?A.