The Winner

Red Marauder

Red Marauder was the champion of Aintree today, he was the fastest or possibly the better stayer of the only two horses to finish in The 2001 Grand National. His performance today was absolutely outstanding considering the very difficult conditions. Red Marauder and his jockey Richard Guest showed the courage and guts that The Grand National is all about. He came through the mud tired cold and wet but crossed the line a distance ahead of his nearest rival and officially there was a distance to the third horse but the first two were half a mile ahead of the third who finished a distance ahead of the third both of which had remounted to finish the race after unshipping their riders. The determination of both horse and jockey to come through on the day was perhaps more remarkable if you consider that they made quite a few jumping errors, Richard said afterwards that "he ( Red Marauder ) just wouldn't go down today" and added "He must have made 5 or 6 errors ". In order to win the race he had to jump 30 testing fences today and that was 24 more than he managed last year when fell at the 6th. He also breaks a recent record in that the last 10 winners were all running in The National for the first time. Red Marauder is not a natural over the Aintree course as he does make mistakes in running but his courage cannot be in any doubt. Many national hunt horses refuse or simply stop running when they make a mistake or simply give up but Red showed his love of the game by staying on in his own time and not having to be urged on by relentless whipping from a jockey. It could have been very different today as he was one of the last horses to jump the canal turn before Paddy's Return came across the fence to baulk so many horses but he was far enough up the field to avoid this mêlée. I have to say that his best form is at distances shorter than 3miles but he has shown that he has the guts to stay this marathon trip. He is 11 now and therefore he will not improve next year but I'm sure that if he can get to Aintree next year there will be plenty of people willing to give this brave horse a good chance of a repeat and he certainly will not be, what looks like a very big price at 33/1 this year. Seeing him come through the mud to win today was truly moving and is a sight I will not forget. Well Done Red !

Norman Mason

Norman Mason Owner and Trainer of this years winner, He was truly humble in the after race interviews pushing the glory onto his jockey, but it is a difficult job to get a horse to the national in any year but to get this horse here in a condition where he is so fit to complete this course in these gruelling conditions was the sign of a very good trainer who know his horses. It would have been very easy for him to not have even entered the horse this year after his fall last year but he know the heart of the horse and was willing to give him a second chance. He names a lot of his horses with the "Red" tag after a trip to china where he was told that red was the lucky colour. He has had some other good "reds". Red Ark who was also entered for this years race and who could be a "live " contender next year in better ground won the 2000 Perrier Joulet Chase and Red Striker won the 2001 dipper Novices chase. Norman Mason is the owner of the leisure group The Mason Organisation that has amusements and bingo halls pubs and clubs and he took out a training licence after having horses with Gordon Richards. His results have improved since he has teamed up with Richard Guest and they are very much a team. More winners will certainly come their way next season. Richard Guest.

Richard Guest

Despite Richards quote yesterday " It looked awful, didn't it ?" he is a very good accomplished horseman . Big race wins are also not new for him as he won The Champion hurdle on Beech Road in 1989 another day when the ground was absolutely bottomless. Richard has also been second in the National when in 1992 he was second on Romany King to that year's winner Party Politics. He has had his problems with the racing authorities, which led him to throw in his jockeys licence in 1998 when he was suspended. Three months later he took a job with Norman Mason as assistant trainer and took up his licence again to ride for the stable. Richard seem to be a nice man and the careful ride he gave his mount without falling off or treating the horse badly only backs up this and he is a well deserved winner of The Worlds Greatest Steeplechase.

Second Place

Smarty

Jumping is the name of the game is a phrase we hear so much and this is what Smarty does best. Smarty (Temp Image) He is a great, safe jumper and didn't make a mistake today, unlike the 39 others who all had problems, He did not have it easy today, he was impeded at the 19th and must have hated the ground as the only time he ran badly this season was when he was pulled up on heavy ground. seen in this light his second is even more impressive as he overcame this as well. He ran very well for most of the race but got tired and did not seem to get the trip but you must add to that "in this ground" and I think this trip will suit him if he gets better ground. He did have the credentials to run well today being a fine winner over 3 ½ miles and he will certainly be winning more races and dare we say it maybe win this event next year. He will have more to do next year as he will probably be higher in the handicap, however he will be only 9 next years and this is a prime age for the race.

Mark Pitman

Mark Pitman has all the credentials, and also looks like becoming one of the top trainers in the country. This is the second time for him to come in second in The Grand National as he rode the very good Garrison Savannah in the race and was a little unlucky not to win that year. ( story in past winners section of this site )That would have been some feat as the horse had won the gold cup that year. Mark comes from a racing family his father Richard was a good jockey who also was second on in the race on Crisp whose story is told else ware on the site. Richard is now the BBC's commentator on National hunt racing. Marks mother Jenny was the first and still the only woman to win The Grand National indeed she has trained two winners of the race, and I don't think it will be long before mark also has won this race. As I said he has won the Gold cup as a jockey and is now doing great this as a trainer He trained 36 winners last season and was 10th in the trainers title.

Timmy Murphy

Timmy Murphy is one of the countries best national hunt jockeys. Timmy Murphy He has a good record and last year won 64 times and made the frame a further 92 times. He gave smarty a fine ride today and it is to his credit that he did not give the horse too hard a race by trying to get the horse ahead of the winner when it was clear that he was not going to win the race if the winner managed to stay on his feet. Timmy guided the horse through the carnage and also an incident at the 19th fence with great care and showed his horsemanship to the full. Along with his celebrations this year at coming second he must also have been a little disappointed that the ground was not better today, but he must be very excited about his prospects for next year.

Third Place

Blowing Wind

Blowing Wind Third in the 20001 Grand National As the choice of the stables number one jockey Blowing winds odds started to fall before the race. He is a brave horse but has had jumping problems in the past., but did not how any of that today. He was hampered at the 19th fence and refused throwing off his jockey, but he had no option at that point as he had nowhere to go and was clever enough to stop. His jockey remounted and then carried on at his own pace and the horse just hunted along to until he was pushed out after the last to finish well ahead of a previous winner Papillon. This will not be known as the best third place but he was going very well before being hampered and could have gone close if this mishap had not happened. At 8 years old he will be back next year and who knows may run well again.

Marin Pipe

Martin Pipe is the top trainer in the country. He trained the 1994 winner of the race, Miinnehoma and had 10 runners in the race this year. As I said he is the top trainer in the country and trained 243 winners last season and was 123 winners and 70 thousand pounds in prise money ahead of his nearest rival.

A.P.McCoy

Tony McCoyAs the stable jockey to Martin Pipe you would have expected Tony to be the number one jockey in the country and so is his 245 winners last year in testament to his professional attitude. He hates being beat at anything especially his riding.. Tony will go anywhere to try and ride a winner and is very well travelled. He rode in 803 races last year and was only unplaced in 331. Many punters follow this man relentlessly and was one of only six jockeys from the top 50 riders to show a level stakes profit on all his rides.

Fourth Place

Papillon

Papillon Fourth n the 2001 Grand National Last years winner made the frame again this year. He ran with credit and managed to avoid much of the mêlée at the canal turn but did make a mistake at the water jump. He was going very well until the 19th fence when along with Blowing Wind he was hampered and unseated his rider. He was another who had no choice but to throw his jockey off. He remounted at the fence and was hunted around the rest of the course but was left behind when Blowing Wind's jockey went for home. He was not asked a serous question them but was ridden along for fourth place, This was probably a good thing as his owner never wanted him to run in the race last year and if she thought that he was going to be injured she would not have run him today and the fact he came home safe and well means that he could well be back for another crack next year.

Edward (Ted) Walsh

Ted Walsh is a very popular trainer in this country and also in his native Ireland. He was a very successful amateur jockey before he turned his hand to training indeed he was 11 times the Irish Amateur Champion rider and won four times at Cheltenham and the last of these wins was in the Foxhunters in 1986. His training stables are very much a family affair with all the family helping out. Last year he also won the Irish national along with this race.

Ruby Walsh

Ruby gave the horse a great ride again this year. He looked after the horse where he needed and pushed the horse along when required. At 21 he is now becoming quite an established horseman and gets plenty of good rides from his father, the trainer who he ride for the most. He must be thrilled to finish fourth this year after last years win and also another who will look forward to next years renewal with relish.