The Winner

Monty's Pass

Monty's pass won this years national and it was not a complete unexpected victory. Monty's Pass One os the horses owners was on at various prices and picked up winnings of around 800,000 pounds. The horse ran very well throughout the race in fact his jockey said that "he never touched a twig" and this ensured that he had enough in the tank to go clear of the field after the last fence. The horses obviously was destined to be a long distance chaser and his win in the grade 1 Kerry National proves. He is not well known in this country for a 10 year old as he does most of his running in Ireland. He ran well today and is a worthy winner of the race.

James Joseph Mangan

James Mangan The Irish trainer James Joseph Mangan did a good job to bring this horse to Aintree at the peak of his form. He is one of the smaller Isish trainers but is clearly a clever man. He has brought this horse to Aintree before, last year he gave him a race in the Topham Chase at this meating and was second on that occasion and that must then have set out the plan for this race. From the pre and post race interviews he seemed a very nice man and it was a shame that the post race reports were more interested in the owners rather than the trainer.

Barry Geraghty

Barry GeraghtyBarry Geraghty just can't seem to put a foot wrong this season and this win is the icing on the cake for him. He had a fantactics Cheltenham festival where he was the leading jockety with 5 wins. Despite his not having completed the Grand National on his previous two rides he gave the horse a peach of a ride today and had him in the right position throughout the race. He is a fine rider who riders in Ireland and on the mainland and he will be in greater demand after this fine season.

Second Place

Supreme Glory

Supreme Glory Supreme Glory ran an absolute blinder today to come second on ground that would seemingly to be to livly for him. His best runs have been on much softer surfaces and therefore this makes his run today all the more remarkable. He clearly had problems keeping up today and that was to be expected but other one thing he does do is stay and today he proved that in spades. The biggest race he has won would be the Welsh National in 2001 but he did suffer some tendon injury that season and so has probably not been seen at his best since. All the stats are against horses coming back to this great race and winning but as most years the ground is on the soft side next year he could come back and who knows?

Pat Murphy

Pat Murphy Pat Murphy is a fine trainer and this run by Supreme Glory is down much to his handling of the horse. He has nursed him back from injury and has given him some good races to run in as preparation for this race. Pat opinions are well respected and he can often been seen on the At The Races racing channel giving his opinions. He is a good trainer and we wish him many more successes. Hopefully Supreme glory will be back to contest the Welsh and Aintree nationals next year. And perhaps give him even more success.

Leighton Aspell

Leighton Aspell is a cleaver jockey who rides this horse particularly well. He had the good sense to not give up on this horse when he was got so far behind early on; he stuck with the horse and gave him the chance to get back to the pack. His knowing the horse was a definite advantage today. although he does ride for a good variety of trainers and on the right horses he will win many more races.

Third Place

Amberleigh House

Amberleigh House is a good chaser who has won over the Aintree fences when he ran in the Becher chase last season. Unfortunately he was balloted out of last years race so it was with relief to his connections that he was allowed to take part this year. He is a nice big horse who loves this course which is just as well because his trainer loves this course and this race having won it three times. The handicapper takes an 'Aintree Factor' into account when issuing the handicap for this race and that meant that this horse was carrying a lot more weight that he would have had to in a normal handicap so by that account if he had been on the bottom weight of 10st be could well have been a lot closer.

Ginger McCain

No other person training today knows what it is like to win the Grand National as many times as Donald (Ginger) McCain. He trained the legendary Red Rum to win this race three times and to be second twice. He is a master at laying out horses for the race. Ginger has not had the best of luck in the race since Rummy but he undoubtedly has the talent to train a winner again and I'm sure he will have this horse back for another crack next year.

Graham Lee

Graham Lee is a fine jockey who won 66 races last season. He gave Amberleigh hose a fine ride today and kept him up with the pace of the race and gave him every chance. Graham was having his first ride in the race today but showed that he knows where he should be throughout.

Fourth Place

Gunner Welburn

Gunner Welburn A fine chaser this who gave hi all today. He had been leading for a lot of the race but could not quicken. It was reported that he did not quite get the trip in the shorter Welsh National but his run here proves that he must have. However he again did not seem to get home here. However although he seemingly does not finish his races well he looks every bit a long distance chaser and the brave effort today has put him in good stead. Gunner Welburn or 'wellie ' as he is known at home is sure to pit up another big long distance chase as his has real guts and determination. He is another who has won over the Aintree fences and who was balloted out last year.

A. M. Balding

Andrew Balding has taken over from his father from January 1st however that does not even start to tell the full story, he has been an assistant trainer to his father Ian balding for some time and also has been successful in a smaller way in his own right. He has plenty of experience in training both codes of racing and it is a good Racing is in the balding bloodline with his great grandfather training three Grand National winners. And his uncle Toby training two. His is a young trainer who will go one to great things.

Barry Fenton

Barry gave this horse a good ride today especially after the horse had to put himself right at the Chair fence. Barry gave the horse time to get back but did not let him loose touch of the leading pack as this can be fatal if you allow this to happen on the second circuit. Barry won the Welsh National a few years back on Kendal Cavalier so he knows how to ride in these big races.