What little girl with a passion for horses hasn’t dreamed of being Velvet Brown (played by the late Elizabeth Taylor) in the classic film “National Velvet?” I was no different! In fact, I even went as far as writing a letter to Jimmy Savile, the host of the BBC hit show “Jim’ll Fix It” to ask him if he could fix it for me to ride in the Grand National. I never did get a response. Perhaps he thought I was a little too young at eight years old to participate in the most hair-raising nine minutes in sport, or that my 11.2 hands pony wouldn’t see over the first fence, let alone jump it!
If you ask anyone in England to name a winner of the Grand National, they would most likely say Red Rum. He won an unprecedented three Grand Nationals ( 1973, 1974 and again in 1977), making him a racing legend and a household name. Although I was too young to see Red Rum race at Aintree, his legacy became very much a part of my family. My father’s first wife, Suzanna Holt, was commissioned to sculpt a life-sized bronze statue of Red Rum (after his retirement), which can be seen at Aintree Racecourse. I have a vague memory of seeing him at one of his sittings(!) and watching the bronze unfold.
The story behind the 1981 Grand National is one of the most emotional and memorable moments in racing history. In fact, it’s so far fetched, it’s hard to believe it is actually true! In 1979, legendary jockey Bob Champion was diagnosed with cancer and given several months to live. Desperate to fulfill his dream of winning the Grand National, he opted for aggressive chemotherapy and was determined to defy the odds. During his recovery, his favorite racehorse Aldaniti suffered severe leg injuries and it looked like his racing career was over also. Two years later, they partnered up to win the Grand National. It was a remarkable accomplishment for the trainer, horse and rider. I was honored to meet Bob Champion one evening, at Kingsclere, many years later.
I also remember the result of the 1983 Grand National being a big deal. Corbiere won for Jenny Pitman, the first woman to train a Grand National winner. Corbiere was a fantastic jumper with a big heart.
In 1990, my dear friend Marcus Armytage rode Mr Frisk to victory, achieving his lifetime ambition and knocking almost 14 seconds off Red Rum’s record time, winning in under nine minutes. A fierce competitor (I beat him only once!), Marcus rode a beautiful race, measuring each of the 30 fences perfectly and winning the race in the homestretch by keeping a weary Mr Frisk balanced using only hands and heels for the drive home. It was rather coincidental timing, as Mister Frisky performed with equal distinction in the U.S. His 16th win on the flat (in as many starts), equaled the great Citation’s score for the longest modern winning streak in America at that time.
The most famous success story of a “hunch play” has to be the year Party Politics won the Grand National, days after the 1992 election in the U.K. It was one of the most dramatic elections in England since the end of World War II. Tories were voted in, even though the polls leading up to the election were all leaning in favor of the Labor Party. Politics were in the forefront of everyone’s mind, which is perhaps the reason Party Politics went off at odds as low as 14/1 in the Grand National.
I’m looking forward to watching this year’s Grand National on HRTV on Saturday, April 9th, as part of our coverage of the Aintree Festival (Thursday, April 7th – Saturday, April 9th).
