Robin Oakley

The turf | 26 April 2018

For the sixth successive year, all the runners and riders completed the course safely

When the photo finish confirmed that Tiger Roll and Davy Russell had held on to win the Grand National by a head from the fast-finishing Pleasant Company, the crowd’s exultant cheer could have been heard over the other side of the Mersey in Birkenhead. As ever there was a grand storyline: the oldest jockey in the race, at 38, won on the smallest horse running for an owner (Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary) who had once sacked him while urging him to prove him wrong. Continuing that process, Russell will be this year’s champion jockey in Ireland. He was the leading rider at this year’s Cheltenham Festival and his own words afterwards made it utterly fitting that on the 14th attempt Davy should have made it on to the Grand National’s honours board.

As a child, he said, he was always happy to help his father cut the lawn at this time of year because he used to take all the grass cuttings and build himself a National fence. ‘I’ve won this race 1,000 times in my head, in my dreams as a child. I’m thinking about my kids knowing they can be part of this wonderful event. I’ve been coming for years and been satisfied leaving without winning because it is such a wonderful event.’ The best successes are those that go to those who truly appreciate them.

The only people who will be sad about this year’s magnificent National will surely be the more extreme animal-rights campaigners — some genuine idealists, others motivated by spite at other people’s pleasures. For years they have hoped that equine deaths and injuries in jump racing’s supreme test would provide them with the ammunition to fight first for the abolition of the National and then of racing altogether.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in