When Derek Fox steered One For Arthur to victory in the 2017 Grand National, it seemed like a classic case of a relatively unknown sportsman having his fifteen minutes of fame.
No offence to a wonderful jockey but outside the tightly-knit world of horse racing, Fox was hardly a household name. Well, now, the 30-year-old from County Sligo can enjoy another fifteen minutes … and, hopefully, much, much longer.
Because on a dramatic, sunlit, interrupted evening at Aintree, Fox coolly rode himself into the sporting history books. And as is so often - in fact, always - the case with National Hunt jockeys, Fox’s tale is one of incredible mental and physical resilience.
The most recent and most pertinent example of Fox’s fortitude came on the morning of the race, doing press-ups to convince himself - and, presumably, winning trainer Lucinda Russell - that he was fit to ride Corach Rambler.
Only ten days prior to the Grand National, Fox had taken a crashing fall at Wetherby and the champion jockey, Brian Hughes, was all set to step in for the plum ride.
But determination is the defining quality in a jump-racing weighing room - don’t forget, Fox had to recover from a broken wrist to take the victorious ride on One for Arthur, who, poignantly, died from colic three weeks ago.
And mental resilience? Fox was diagnosed with dyslexia at an early age and left school when he was only 14. Subsequently, he taught himself to read and now devours sporting autobiographies.
When he gets round to writing his own, he will have a heck of a story to tell. This chapter will involve a 14-minute delay to the greatest horse race, which had horses and jockeys sweating up in the paddock.
But once he had passed his fitness test, there was, amidst the usual and unusual chaos that ensued, no man or woman calmer than Fox. He picked his way expertly around the two circuits, avoiding the fallers and loose horses, never looking in a moment’s trouble.
Had the protestors still been on the course, he would have dodged them. And in winning by two and a quarter lengths from Vanillier, Fox never once resorted to using his whip. It was a masterclass.
The only time he looked flustered was when he was hoisted aloft on one of the owners’ shoulders.
No wonder the owners celebrated wildly. Corach Rambler was bought for £17,000 - peanuts in the context of race horse prices - and sold to a seven-strong syndicate that includes a 21-year-old university student, Cameron Sword.
After winning the first prize of nearly £400,000, he might even be able to pay off his loan now. The man who spotted Corach Rambler and has done so much to develop him into the finest staying chaser was Peter Scudamore, long-term partner and assistant to the winning trainer.
Ironically, Scudamore is, quite possibly, the best jockey never to have won a Grand National. Now, his partner - who scattered some of One For Arthur’s ashes by the winning post before the race - has established herself as one of THE great Grand National trainers of all time.
“The decision to come over from Ireland and work for Lucinda is the best one I’ve ever made,” said Fox. “She has been so understanding and brilliant for me.” As Fox picked his way through the chaos of Aintree and into the Aintree winners enclosure, Russell was no doubt saying the same thing about the softly-spoken man from Sligo.
Once again, this was a triumph for mental and physical resilience, from horse and human.
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