The winning jockey 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 racingResilience 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...
There is still a day in April when a race in north-west England halts our separation for a few hours at least, and the horse is briefly reinstated in our national consciousnessIn his recent book Farewell to the Horse: the Final Century of our Relationship, the German writer Ulrich Raulff charts what he sees as “the exodus of the horse from human history”. The “separation of man and horse”, Raulff says, “is not only a done deal, it is also a finished process”, and on 364 days of the year, it is hard to argue. There is still a day in April, though, when a horse race in the north-west of England halts the exodus for a few hours at...
Lalor, a horse discovered by the late trainer Richard Woollacott, won the Grade One Top Novice Hurdle at AintreeGreg Wood: After the success of Lalor in the Grade One Top Novice Hurdle, the Aintree winner’s enclosure was thick with emotion for the trainer Kayley Woollacott, whose husband, Richard, was found dead in January at the age of 40. Related: Grand National’s trio of female jockeys focus on victory, not history Related: Grand National 2018: a horse-by-horse betting guide Continue reading...
We go through the runners for the 2018 edition of the world’s most famous horse raceGrand National day – live! Join our team for the latest newsWon the Irish Grand National in 2015, beating Rule The World at level weights, form which looked pretty good when the runner-up won the next year’s Grand National. Has not won since and yet somehow remains 6lb higher than for his Fairyhouse success. Was not to blame for his jockey being knocked out of the saddle in this last year but harder to make excuses for his falls in his last two races, since he got about halfway up the fence on each occasion and was under no great pressure at the time. The...
The Irish jockey, who is aiming to be the first female rider to win the National, is not worried about ground conditions at Aintree ahead of her mount Baie Des Iles’ challenge on SaturdayTony Paley: Katie Walsh, who is aiming to be the first female rider to win the Grand National, is not worried about ground conditions at Aintree for her mount Baie Des Iles’ challenge on Saturday. Related: Fall guy Richard Johnson is still searching for a Grand National mount Hereford 1.40 Mick The Poser 2.10 Llantara (nb) 2.40 Run Don’t Hide 3.10 Surtee Du Berlais (nap) 3.45 Mr Washington 4.15 Cloudy Bob 4.45 Little Rory Mac Continue reading...