Ireland has conquered most of Britain’s major National Hunt races in recent years but like the Gaulish village in the Asterix series, one stable in Scotland continues to resist. Lucinda Russell went into this year’s Grand National as the last British trainer to saddle the winner, with One For Arthur in 2017, and she defied a record Irish contingent to land the world’s most famous steeplechase for the second time in six years as Corach Rambler, the 8-1 favourite, got home from the fast-finishing Vanillier by two-and-a-quarter lengths.
Few trainers or jockeys get to enjoy even a single National winner, but Russell and Derek Fox, Corach Rambler’s rider, are now in the even more exclusive club of dual winners, though for Fox, it was a close-run thing.
On Saturday morning, he was doing press-ups on the floor of the medical room, to prove to the racecourse doctor that he had fully recovered from a fall on 6 April which aggravated an issue with his shoulder. And even though Brian Hughes, the reigning champion over jumps, was on standby for the ride if Fox failed to pass the doctor, it is hard to imagine that any replacement could have produced as polished a performance as Fox in a dramatic, ever-changing race.
Finishers
1st CORACH RAMBLER 8-1 FAVOURITE; 2nd Vanillier 20-1 2 1/4 lengths; 3rd Gaillard Du Mesnil 10-1 4 3/4 lengths; 4th Noble Yeats 10-1 1 1/2 lengths; 5th The Big Dog; 6th Born By The Sea; 7th Roi Mage; 8th Mister Coffey; 9th A Wave Of The Sea; 10th Le Milos; 11th Our Power; 12th Enjoy D’Allen; 13th Fortescue; 14th Carefully Selected; 15th Minella Trump; 16th Francky Du Berlais; 17th Ain’t That A Shame
Non-finishers
1st Cloudy Glen (UR – unseated rider); Recite A Prayer (UR); Diol Ker (UR); Galvin (UR); Hill Sixteen (Fell); 2nd Darasso (UR); Fury Road (Fell); The Big Breakaway (Fell); 8th Longhouse Poet (UR); 9th Lifetime Ambition (UR); 14th Cape Gentleman (PU – pulled up); 15th Gabbys Cross (UR); Sam Brown (Fell); 17th Dunboyne (PU); 18th Any Second Now (PU); Velvet Elvis (PU); 21st Eva's Oskar (UR); Delta Work (UR); 24th Mr Incredible (UR); 26th Back On The Lash (PU); 29th Coko Beach (PU); 30th Capodanno (PU)
A 15-minute delay as animal rights protesters were removed from the course left nerves jangling, but Fox was coolness personified as he settled Corach Rambler towards the inside, a few lengths behind the leaders, saving ground and jumping superbly.
Several horses departed on the first run towards Becher’s Brook, including Hill Sixteen, who suffered a fatal injury at the first, but Fox avoided mishaps and kept cruising in behind as Mister Coffey, bidding to give Nicky Henderson the first Grand National win of his long career, took up the running crossing Valentine’s for the first time.
Mister Coffey came into the race without a single win over fences to his name, but he jumped and travelled impeccably for Nico de Boinville and led the field for more than a circuit. Yet even as he shot five lengths clear on the turn back towards the stands with two to jump, the eye was irresistibly drawn to the rider in yellow and purple colours, sitting quietly in his slipstream.
Corach Rambler was pulling double in second place as they went over the second-last, and jumped into the lead over the last as Mister Coffey’s stamina ran out in a couple of strides. He faded to finish eighth of the 16 finishers, with Vanillier, Gaillard Du Mesnil and Noble Yeats filling the frame behind the impressive winner.
Russell’s father, Peter, who played a key role in setting up her current stable in 1995, died in January at the age of 95, while One For Arthur died from colic a few weeks ago, and it was an emotional moment for Russell as the field set off, after the 15-minute delay caused by the protest.
“I spread some of Arthur’s ashes by the winning post just now,” she said afterwards. “He changed my life, and with Corach, it gave me confidence.
“It has been really emotional. I felt a bit sorry for Anthony Bromley, who was sitting next to me, because when the tapes went up, I just started crying, which is pathetic. But it’s just the release of emotion, of producing a horse for the day, and kind of what One For Arthur taught us was how to get a horse right just for the day.
“All the emotion of doing that, Derek had been injured, we had a problem with a shoe. When the tapes go up, that’s when the emotion starts.”
The seven-strong syndicate that owns Corach Rambler was formed via an advert on Russell’s website and includes Cameron Sword, a 21-year-old student who bought a £3,400 share after developing an interest in racing during lockdown.
Huntingdon 1.35 Hardy Boy 2.05 Blue Beach 2.40 Master Malcolm 3.15 Dancila 3.50 The Questioner 4.25 Duke Of Deception 5.00 Borodale 5.35 Hey Brother
Wincanton 1.50 Fame And Fun 2.25 Buckhorn Rocco (nap) 3.00 Double Click 3.35 Jack Sprat 4.10 Wick Green (nb) 4.45 Urabamba 5.20 Meatloaf 5.50 Kintail
Other owners include a Scotsman who retired to Australia and wanted a connection to his home country, and a man who bought in to the horse while searching for a focus after the death of his wife.
Corach Rambler is, in other words, a perfect advertisement for the sport, a horse who has changed lives for the better.
“He’s amazing,” Russell said. “He’ll pick up on emotions. I went into his box this morning, I was really scared, not about the test because I knew I’d got the best person riding him, but you’re worried about what might go wrong and scared of the unknown. He’ll turn his head to you and he understands.
“Those guys who went out to protest on course, they think it is about horse welfare. That horse loves his sport, he loves everything he does. He is kept in the best possible conditions, and I am just so delighted that he can run in a race like that, perform like that, and he has now got greatness. It is what he deserves.”
