‘When you’re a child you dream about riding the winner of the Grand National; it’s such an iconic race, as high as you can go in racing,’ says the Irish racehorse trainer Willie Mullins. ‘I remember the first time I won it; I was on cloud nine for the entire year.’
Although he never scooped the sport’s top prize in his career as a jockey, as a trainer he’s won twice: in 2005 with Hedgehunter, ridden by Ruby Walsh, and last year with the nine-year-old gelding I Am Maximus, whose jockey Paul Townend is favourite to repeat the feat in today’s race. If he succeeds, Townend will be the second jockey to win back-to-back Grand Nationals on the same horse since Brian Fletcher on Red Rum in 1974 (the other being Davy Russell on Tiger Roll in 2019).
‘I Am Maximus can be a complicated character, but Paul gets on very well with him and is able to read him and keep him happy. That’s essential in any marriage and that’s basically what a horse and jockey are for the course of the race,’ says Mullins, who has worked with Townend since the jockey joined his yard as a 15-year-old apprentice. The essential characteristic of a Grand National-winning jockey? ‘You need a guy who’s lucky, number one,’ says Mullins. Implicit trust of the horse, the ability to adapt to whatever unfolds in the famously unpredictable race, and a cool head are the other non-negotiables. But then, as Mullins adds, ‘Anyone who rides a horse over a 5ft fence at almost 40 miles per hour is a fairly cool customer.’
Every year millions of people worldwide watch 34 horses hurtle around four miles and two-and-a-half furlongs in the world’s most famous steeplechase. Notoriously dangerous, in recent years the Grand National’s fences have been made smaller and more flexible, and the number of runners reduced in a bid to improve safety for the horses and their jockeys. Nevertheless, says Mullins, ‘It’s a race where everyone has a chance and anything can happen.’
Whoever wins will scoop £500,000 for their horse’s owner, along with the 40cm-high, 6kg sterling silver trophy, made by British jeweller Boodles. The house, which was founded in Liverpool in 1798, has a history of decorating Grand National winners: it first created a solid gold cup ...
