THE MORNING AFTER THE DAY BEFORE.

​Phew!
If there can be any criticism of I.T.V.’s excellent coverage of the Grand National it is that they rush the re-run and analysis of the race. It is not entirely their fault as with the race being run at 5.15 in the afternoon they are given little time to wrap up proceedings in an unrushed and orderly manner. I would like more interviews with the jockeys to get their take on how the race went for them and as I write I am not aware of why Bechers was doled off second time round, especially as it seems, and I pray it is correct, that no horse was badly injured during the race. The ‘assessment’ of Saint Are is though concerning as it might be a shoulder injury.
On a lighter and more general note it would make informative viewing if an analysis of the experts’ views were conducted. We, as either viewers or punters, hang on their every word and it would be good to know which of the experts proves more correct in her of his opinions and predictions. Tiger Roll was thought by most I.T.V.’s experts to be unlikely to take to the Aintree Fences. Ruby Walsh could not see how Pleasant Company could stay when he didn’t last year. Matt Chapman thought Milansbar the least likely of the three horses ridden by females to run well.
The race itself was a triumph for the race organisers, though I am beginning to become concerned about the compulsive need for jockeys to cram into the corner of the Canal Turn, tactic that seems to begin at the Foinavon fence, making the fence an accident waiting to happen. I don’t know the answer. Or if the threat to safety is more perceived than real. But twenty or thirty horses funnelling into a space no more than three horses wide is a situation ripe for disaster. Surely for self-preservation reasons alone jockeys would be better off losing a few lengths by jumping more toward the centre of the fence than risk falling or being brought down by scrambling for the corner. One half of the Canal Turn never gets jumped and Aintree could save themselves money and time if it were reduced by half in width. Indeed, perhaps if the Canal Turn was to be halved in width jockeys would fan out more and the concertina effect would be reduced.
Tiger Roll is not your typical Grand National winner in form or conformation. Triumph Hurdle winners never go on to win Grand Nationals, though Commanche Court went on to win an Irish National and 2-mile hurdlers rarely go on to find the stamina to win the National Hunt Chase and the Cross-Country at the Cheltenham Festival. Tiger Roll is both the exception to the rule and an exceptional racehorse. A book, I predict, will be written about him and his name will become the go-to reference when experts debate the chances of a horse in a race that his or her breeding, form or conformation, should by all reasoning preclude them from winning.
And it would have been an injustice if Davy Russell had retired having not chalked up a Grand National success and equalled the achievement of his Irish equals Geraghty, McCoy, Carberry, Power, Walsh etc. Davy Russell is Davy Russell, there is something unique about him and I have formed the impression that he has deep love and understanding of horses that perhaps runs alongside his love of family and of people in general. When Tiger Roll’s energy reserves ran out in the last hundred yards he did not resort to the whip and seemed to accept he would either hang on or he wouldn’t. He did not give the impression that he was going to abuse his brave partner by whacking him with his whip.
It must have been galling for Willie Mullins to be denied by Gordon Elliot in the Grand National as he was in the Irish National, though I suspect he was one of the first to congratulate the man who is fast becoming his nemesis. Though Elliot, deservedly, will be lauded for winning this year’s Grand National it was as much an example of his ability that Bless The Wings, a thirteen-year-old, ran on with great zest to snatch third place. It is relatively easy winning races with horses of the ability of Samcro but not so easy to pick up an exposed handicapped for a snip and then win, win and win with it, before finishing third at thirteen in a fiercely competitive Grand National.
Because I backed Milansbar each-way and he was the only horse I backed to give me a hope of success (by the by, I though Alpha Des Obeaux was enjoying himself and he should be remembered for next year) I followed his progress more closely than any other and believe Bryony Frost gave him an absolute peach of a ride. That girl is a brilliant horsewoman. Why she is not riding three or four horses a day is a mystery. She is a female Ruby Walsh and given time and experience should become a household name. With the win at Warwick and finishing fifth in the Grand National Neil King has the option of training Milansbar specifically for next year’s race knowing his rating should ensure he gets in. He’ll be twelve next year; conceivably it will be his last chance to win the race and given soft-to-heavy ground, though he lost ground during the softest part of the course and then ran on, and a lighter campaign – he certainly looked a National horse – he might surprise and shock Matt Chapman again.
A good Grand National. Can’t wait for next year. Have that ‘what’s there to live for now’ feeling but it will pass. How can any man die during the summer when it is possible that Samcro might yet turn out to be the next Arkle? Or not knowing if Presenting Percy will be his nemesis.