Resilience is needed for any Grand National victory and Davy Russell finally got his reward here for proving perhaps the only employee Michael O’Leary could not get rid of. Just over four years ago, O’Leary called time on their relationship as owner and principal jockey but Russell rode his way back into the Ryanair man’s good books, leading to this shared moment of glory in the biggest jumps race of them all.
Russell seemed at a low ebb in December 2013, when O’Leary fired him over the most famous cup of tea in the history of Irish jumps racing. He was in his mid-30s, at an age when many a fine rider has decided to do something less dangerous, and O’Leary was not the only one who felt the jockey should have been more effective on the track.
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