Forty horses yesterday ran the Grand National in Liverpool, the world's biggest, most famous and most valuable horse race. Despite coming under attack from various animal rights groups for its high rate of horse fatalities, the race is as popular as ever before.
The race is 4 miles 4 furlongs long, and 17 of the 40 starters managed to compete this gruelling race.
Mon Mome yesterday became the horse with the greatest odds to win the Grand National since Foinavon in 1967. It won the race despite having odds of 100-1. Mon Mome won by 12 lengths in a time of 9 minutes, 34 seconds. It was the winning 23-year-old jockey's first Grand National. Mon Mome has a female trainer - and she's only the second ever female trainer whose horse has won the Grand National. And it was the first French bred winner in 100 years.
Last year's winner Comply Or Die finished second. If it had won, it would have been the first time since Red Rum in 1974 to have won the Grand National for a second successive year.
My Will finished 3rd, and State of Play was 4th.
Hear The Echo collapsed during the race and later passed away.
Saturday 4th April 2009
BBC News
THE 162ND GRAND NATIONAL, at Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool
RESULT
1. Mon Mome (L Treadwell) 100-1
2. Comply Or Die (T J Murphy) 14-1
3. My Will (R Walsh) 8-1
4. State of Play (Paul Moloney) 14-1
40 horses ran
Liam Treadwell triumphs on the 100-1 chance Mon Mome for a famous victory in the 162nd Grand National
The 100-1 chance Mon Mome caused a massive shock with a superb display to win the Grand National at Aintree.
Trained by Venetia Williams in Herefordshire and ridden by Liam Treadwell on his Grand National debut, the nine-year-old won by 12-lengths.
He jumped the last alongside last year's winner Comply or Die but pulled away after the final fence.
Comply or Die (14-1) held off My Will (8-1) for second, with Welsh-trained State of Play (14-1) in fourth.
Mon Mome was the first 100-1 shot to win since Foinavon in the freak 1967 race, and there has been no longer-priced winner in the race's 162 runnings.
Williams, a former Grand National jockey, became only the second woman after Jenny Pitman (Corbiere in 1983 and Royal Athlete in 1995) to train a National winner.
In a keenly contested race, there were still around a dozen horses in with chances with two fences to go - and Treadwell's mount was among those nicely in contention.
He kept Mon Mome out of trouble on the outside and a strong run between the last two fences left him at the head of the field alongside Comply or Die.
But he crucially carried six pounds less than the 2008 winner, and in the end that weight difference proved vital.
A delighted Williams, whose own riding career was ended prematurely by a broken neck in a fall at Worcester, said afterwards: "How can you ever expect that in a race like this?
"It was just unbelievable, the owner was watching the wrong horse for the first part of the race and she thought it was out the back.
"I'm so proud of the horse. I'm so proud of Liam for giving him such a good ride, and the girl who looks after him as well.
"I'm so proud of everyone in the yard - I never get chance to praise them and give them the credit they deserve, it is all a team effort."
Treadwell added: "It's an absolutely unbelievable finish, I had the perfect run through the race, he jumped brilliant for me.
"A couple of times loose horses fell upsides me and went under his legs but it didn't really affect the horse.
"He gave me such a great ride. He was an absolute pleasure to ride. He is so genuine."
Although he was a comfortable winner, Treadwell was unsure where his nearest challengers were at the finish: "I had a quick look round but I wasn't really sure how far in front I was."
The 7-1 favourite Butler's Cabin finished back in seventh meaning Tony McCoy is still waiting for his first Grand National victory.
Jonjo O'Neill's charge needed medical treatment afterwards but recovered.
However, Irish challenger Hear The Echo from the Mouse Morris yard collapsed on the run-in and later died.
Bookmakers hailed the success for Mon Mome as their best-ever Grand National win.
Ladbrokes spokesman David Williams said: "It was better than we could ever have dreamed of. Liam Treadwell was our saviour. A win for Walsh or McCoy would have seen a multi million pound turnaround.
"The sun shone on Aintree and the sun shone on the bookies. If last year was one for the punters, 2009 was very much one for us."
Looking pretty in pink, local favourite Coleen Rooney, Wayne Rooney's wife, is back at Aintree again for the second day in a row for the Grand National
Coleen poses with the most fashionable racegoer winner Samantha Marsh from Liverpool with her prizes
Author Jilly Cooper is among the early arrivals keen to get a good view of the Grand National
With 40 runners in the Grand National, racegoers take time to study their choices
The first winner of the day is Droitwich jeweller David Griffiths who takes the John Smith's People's Race on Mith Hill
Bouggler (left), Copper Bleu (centre) and Ainama (right) battle it out for the Mersey Novice Hurdle with Bouggler triumphing
Kalahari King gives Graham Lee a boost on his return from injury with victory in the Maghull Novice Chase
On a beautiful sunny day at Aintree the horses have two false starts before starting the four miles of the Grand National
Liam Treadwell needs to take swift action on Mon Mome to avoid fallen jockeys Denis O'Regan and Robbie Power at Becher's Brook second time around
Jockey Jason Maguire gets help after being unseated from Cloudy Lane at the Chair
After a gruelling run, last year's winner Comply or Die defies a heavy weight to battle it out to the finish line with Mon Mome
But it is Liam Treadwell who triumphs on the 100-1 chance Mon Mome for a famous victory
***********************************************
By Cornelius Lysaght
BBC racing correspondent
The Grand National regained its most famous reputation in 2009.
At 100-1, Mon Mome and his young jockey Liam Treadwell became the biggest-odds winner of the World's most famous steeplechase since Foinavon in 1967.
So the mystique provided by the lottery nature of the £900,000 race returned after several years of better fancied horses generally taking the prize.
This has to be a plus because the Grand National is not just a horse race, it is "the National", the result of which millions want to try to predict, but know they are up against it.
In fact, bookmakers tell me that you could hear a pin drop in most of their shops as punters turned to each other asking "Mon who"?
With betting turnover 42 years ago so much lower, this victory made it the best day ever for the bookies. Despite the recession, an estimated £250m was gambled.
The bare facts are that Mon Mome, who had carried owner Vida Bingham's silks into 10th place in 2008 and so was probably over-priced, was one of a large number still with a chance entering the closing stages. But he won comprehensively.
And in terms of the traditional Grand National fairytale, the team around him came straight out of the top drawer.
Treadwell, in the big race line-up for the first time, spoke of being bought a mechanical horse as a teenager, videoing the Grand National and riding his machine alongside, trying to win the famous race in his Sussex bedroom.
Winning trainer Venetia Williams, based in picturesque stables close to the river Wye in Herefordshire, became only the second woman (after Jenny Pitman) to send out the winner of the big race.
As a jockey, Williams had a ride in the 1988 National, and fell heavily enough at Becher's Brook to be knocked out and taken to hospital. In 2009, what memory there was of the incident was certainly erased.
What else is there to take out of this year's race? The authorities who insisted the standard of runner had to improve have been well rewarded.
Fewer fallers meant more than three-quarters of the 40-strong field set out on the final circuit, and a significant proportion of them actually finished, all of which provided a great spectacle.
Behind Mon Mome, Comply Or Die, the winner in 2008, demonstrated he is a real "Aintree type" when finishing a heroic runner-up, while jockey Ruby Walsh's mastery of the famous fences was again shown as he steered My Will around in third spot despite the horse making jumping mistakes.
Not all was good however. The two false starts, although now as much a part of Aintree as The Chair and Becher's, were embarrassing, though it remains unclear quite what the solution is.
And clearly the death of Hear The Echo, who collapsed on the run from the last fence, left a sad mark.
However, on the whole, the 162nd running will go down as a joyful celebration of what the Grand National is meant to be all about.
news.bbc.co.uk/sport
The race is 4 miles 4 furlongs long, and 17 of the 40 starters managed to compete this gruelling race.
Mon Mome yesterday became the horse with the greatest odds to win the Grand National since Foinavon in 1967. It won the race despite having odds of 100-1. Mon Mome won by 12 lengths in a time of 9 minutes, 34 seconds. It was the winning 23-year-old jockey's first Grand National. Mon Mome has a female trainer - and she's only the second ever female trainer whose horse has won the Grand National. And it was the first French bred winner in 100 years.
Last year's winner Comply Or Die finished second. If it had won, it would have been the first time since Red Rum in 1974 to have won the Grand National for a second successive year.
My Will finished 3rd, and State of Play was 4th.
Hear The Echo collapsed during the race and later passed away.
Saturday 4th April 2009
BBC News
THE 162ND GRAND NATIONAL, at Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool
RESULT
40 horses ran
Liam Treadwell triumphs on the 100-1 chance Mon Mome for a famous victory in the 162nd Grand National
The 100-1 chance Mon Mome caused a massive shock with a superb display to win the Grand National at Aintree.
Trained by Venetia Williams in Herefordshire and ridden by Liam Treadwell on his Grand National debut, the nine-year-old won by 12-lengths.
He jumped the last alongside last year's winner Comply or Die but pulled away after the final fence.
Comply or Die (14-1) held off My Will (8-1) for second, with Welsh-trained State of Play (14-1) in fourth.
Mon Mome was the first 100-1 shot to win since Foinavon in the freak 1967 race, and there has been no longer-priced winner in the race's 162 runnings.
Williams, a former Grand National jockey, became only the second woman after Jenny Pitman (Corbiere in 1983 and Royal Athlete in 1995) to train a National winner.
In a keenly contested race, there were still around a dozen horses in with chances with two fences to go - and Treadwell's mount was among those nicely in contention.
He kept Mon Mome out of trouble on the outside and a strong run between the last two fences left him at the head of the field alongside Comply or Die.
But he crucially carried six pounds less than the 2008 winner, and in the end that weight difference proved vital.
A delighted Williams, whose own riding career was ended prematurely by a broken neck in a fall at Worcester, said afterwards: "How can you ever expect that in a race like this?
"It was just unbelievable, the owner was watching the wrong horse for the first part of the race and she thought it was out the back.
"I'm so proud of the horse. I'm so proud of Liam for giving him such a good ride, and the girl who looks after him as well.
"I'm so proud of everyone in the yard - I never get chance to praise them and give them the credit they deserve, it is all a team effort."
Treadwell added: "It's an absolutely unbelievable finish, I had the perfect run through the race, he jumped brilliant for me.
"A couple of times loose horses fell upsides me and went under his legs but it didn't really affect the horse.
"He gave me such a great ride. He was an absolute pleasure to ride. He is so genuine."
Although he was a comfortable winner, Treadwell was unsure where his nearest challengers were at the finish: "I had a quick look round but I wasn't really sure how far in front I was."
The 7-1 favourite Butler's Cabin finished back in seventh meaning Tony McCoy is still waiting for his first Grand National victory.
Jonjo O'Neill's charge needed medical treatment afterwards but recovered.
However, Irish challenger Hear The Echo from the Mouse Morris yard collapsed on the run-in and later died.
Bookmakers hailed the success for Mon Mome as their best-ever Grand National win.
Ladbrokes spokesman David Williams said: "It was better than we could ever have dreamed of. Liam Treadwell was our saviour. A win for Walsh or McCoy would have seen a multi million pound turnaround.
"The sun shone on Aintree and the sun shone on the bookies. If last year was one for the punters, 2009 was very much one for us."
Looking pretty in pink, local favourite Coleen Rooney, Wayne Rooney's wife, is back at Aintree again for the second day in a row for the Grand National
Coleen poses with the most fashionable racegoer winner Samantha Marsh from Liverpool with her prizes
Author Jilly Cooper is among the early arrivals keen to get a good view of the Grand National
With 40 runners in the Grand National, racegoers take time to study their choices
The first winner of the day is Droitwich jeweller David Griffiths who takes the John Smith's People's Race on Mith Hill
Bouggler (left), Copper Bleu (centre) and Ainama (right) battle it out for the Mersey Novice Hurdle with Bouggler triumphing
Kalahari King gives Graham Lee a boost on his return from injury with victory in the Maghull Novice Chase
On a beautiful sunny day at Aintree the horses have two false starts before starting the four miles of the Grand National
Liam Treadwell needs to take swift action on Mon Mome to avoid fallen jockeys Denis O'Regan and Robbie Power at Becher's Brook second time around
Jockey Jason Maguire gets help after being unseated from Cloudy Lane at the Chair
After a gruelling run, last year's winner Comply or Die defies a heavy weight to battle it out to the finish line with Mon Mome
But it is Liam Treadwell who triumphs on the 100-1 chance Mon Mome for a famous victory
***********************************************
By Cornelius Lysaght
BBC racing correspondent
The Grand National regained its most famous reputation in 2009.
At 100-1, Mon Mome and his young jockey Liam Treadwell became the biggest-odds winner of the World's most famous steeplechase since Foinavon in 1967.
So the mystique provided by the lottery nature of the £900,000 race returned after several years of better fancied horses generally taking the prize.
This has to be a plus because the Grand National is not just a horse race, it is "the National", the result of which millions want to try to predict, but know they are up against it.
In fact, bookmakers tell me that you could hear a pin drop in most of their shops as punters turned to each other asking "Mon who"?
With betting turnover 42 years ago so much lower, this victory made it the best day ever for the bookies. Despite the recession, an estimated £250m was gambled.
The bare facts are that Mon Mome, who had carried owner Vida Bingham's silks into 10th place in 2008 and so was probably over-priced, was one of a large number still with a chance entering the closing stages. But he won comprehensively.
And in terms of the traditional Grand National fairytale, the team around him came straight out of the top drawer.
Treadwell, in the big race line-up for the first time, spoke of being bought a mechanical horse as a teenager, videoing the Grand National and riding his machine alongside, trying to win the famous race in his Sussex bedroom.
Winning trainer Venetia Williams, based in picturesque stables close to the river Wye in Herefordshire, became only the second woman (after Jenny Pitman) to send out the winner of the big race.
As a jockey, Williams had a ride in the 1988 National, and fell heavily enough at Becher's Brook to be knocked out and taken to hospital. In 2009, what memory there was of the incident was certainly erased.
What else is there to take out of this year's race? The authorities who insisted the standard of runner had to improve have been well rewarded.
Fewer fallers meant more than three-quarters of the 40-strong field set out on the final circuit, and a significant proportion of them actually finished, all of which provided a great spectacle.
Behind Mon Mome, Comply Or Die, the winner in 2008, demonstrated he is a real "Aintree type" when finishing a heroic runner-up, while jockey Ruby Walsh's mastery of the famous fences was again shown as he steered My Will around in third spot despite the horse making jumping mistakes.
Not all was good however. The two false starts, although now as much a part of Aintree as The Chair and Becher's, were embarrassing, though it remains unclear quite what the solution is.
And clearly the death of Hear The Echo, who collapsed on the run from the last fence, left a sad mark.
However, on the whole, the 162nd running will go down as a joyful celebration of what the Grand National is meant to be all about.
news.bbc.co.uk/sport
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