What UK racing needed following last year’s Grand National, a race disrupted by Animal Aid protesters, was a 2024 renewal that rekindled the nation’s love affair with the historic event. It did not disappoint.
With the start time brought forward, glorious spring sunshine enveloped Merseyside and the Aintree course looked in great shape. With a capacity crowd thronging the enclosures the atmosphere was one of nervous excitement as the runners lined up at the start.
In addition to the earlier start time designed to ensure the ground hadn’t become too firm in the event of a drying day, some other changes had been introduced to further lessen the chances of equine injury.
The start had been moved 60 metres nearer the first fence to reduce the speed the horses reached the first obstacle at and the maximum number of runners was reduced to 34 from 40 to lessen the likelihood of horses encountering traffic and losing sight of the fences as they approached them. Tow non-runners meant that 32 lined up for the race.
The racing world held its breath as the starter sent them on their way but the breathlessness at the beginning of the race had taken another form by the end of it as a thrilling race delivered a pulsating spectacle.
FThere was drama at the first fence as the 2023 winner, Corach Rambler, unseated his jockey Derek Fox. But the rest of the runners got over safely and, although there were several more unseats and instances of horses who had drifted out of contention and were subsequently pulled up, not a single horse fell during the race.
Willie Mullins saddled no fewer than 8 of the runners and his Glengouly made the early running and stayed in front until the Canal Turn second time around when Eldorado Allen took it up. Joint betting app favourite I Am Maximus, another Mullins runner, was hugging the inside rail mid-way back in the field.
As they approached the stands and took the second last it looked as open a Grand National as had been seen in living memory with as many as 20 runners within half a dozen lengths of the leader Late Night Pass who’d now taken it up under his rider Gina Andrews.
At this point former Gold Cup winner Minella Indo was travelling best of all but was surrounded by any number of horses who were now being galvanised to challenge.
As they approached the elbow Minella Indo had taken it up with Delta Work, third in the race two years earlier, challenging on his inside. It looked for a few seconds as though Rachael Blackmore, who’d become the first female jockey to win the race in 2021, was going to add a second Grand National to her growing list of honours.
But Paul Townend, fresh from winning both the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival a month earlier, had now stoked up I Am Maximus and delivered his horse on the outside of the other pair, flashing past and galloping away to record a convincing victory at the line.
Delta Work just outstayed Minella Indo to take second with Galvin running on into fourth.
It was a Grand National to remember. The number of runners still in contention at the second provided a thrilling spectacle and the excitement levels in the grandstands at that point was electric. The number of finishers allied to the absence of fallers and the fact that all runners came home safely vindicated the changes that had been made to the course.
Another post-script to the race was that the win meant that Irish-based trainer Willie Mullins overtook Dan Skelton and Paul Nicholls in the race to be crowned champion UK jumps trainer. That race has another few weeks to play out yet but Mullins has already signalled his intention to target Ayr’s Scottish National meeting in an attempt to take the championship to Ireland for the first time in 70 years, Vincent O’Brien being the last to manage the feat back in 1954.