THE RACE they couldn't stop was won by the horse they couldn't catch. After all the confusion and clamour of Saturday's abandoned Martell Grand National, the re run was always going to demand something extraordinary to focus attention back on actual racing. The darker side of the 1997 Grand National may still hog the headlines, but Lord Gyllene elbowed his way alongside with one of the most impressive victories the great race has ever seen.

Making every yard of the running over the gruelling four and a half miles and 30 fences proved beyond even thee mighty Crisp, but the New Zealand bred Lord Gyllene didn't just overpower his 35 opponents, he ran them virtually into the ground. Rarely if ever has the National been so ruthlessly dominated and its fences made to look so dwarfish.

The fact that Lord Gyllene was guided through it by Tony Dobbin made the occasion even more significant. The 24 year old from Downpatrick provided the greatest possible contrast to the cynics who tried to destroy this most original of sporting events. Dobbin has always been quick witted and engaging, but in confirming his soaring talent on the greatest stage of all he provided a glorious example of the positive from Northern Ireland when it mattered most.

When Dobbin pointed Lord Gyllene's elegant frame towards the first fence, even he could hardly have foreseen how well the nine year old would take to the 29 others. "He just took off at the first. I didn't want to disappoint him so I let him off. With only 10 stone on his back he thought he was loose," Dobbin said afterwards.

The memory of what followed will keep him grinning for a long time yet. For the first circuit, Northern Ireland's most famous riding son kept him company. Richard Dunwoody has picked up enough experience from winning two previous Nationals to know that the best place to stay out of trouble is at the front and he and his mount Smith's Band kept Lord Gyllene company.

Remarkably, the smallest fence on the track, the water, provided Dobbin with his most fraught moment of the race. A loose horse threatened to carry Lord Gyllene off the course and Dobbin later admitted he was lucky to remain in the race. Tragically, at the 20th fence, Smith's Band's luck ran out. Still in step with Lord Gyllene, he missed his step at the fence and crashed to the ground, broke his neck and died instantly. Straight Talk was the other fatality, breaking his leg when falling at the 14th.

Irish hopes of winning the National had taken the first of its major blows a fence earlier when Wylde Hide made a horrible mistake. Arthur Moore's charge continued to make mistakes and was beaten when unseating Charlie Swan at Becher's second time round. "Both reins went to one side at the 13th and he made a haymaker a couple of fences before Becher's," reported Swan.

Antonin finished best of the six strong Irish team in 11th, but jockey Conor O'Dwyer was never hopeful of winning. "I was niggling him even going to the first. He's a horse that likes to dominate and when things weren't going his way he switched off," O'Dwyer said.

New Co, 15th, was the only other Irish finisher. Delighted trainer Mouse Morris said: "He was badly interfered with two fences before the Chair, but he's got around and David Casey gave him a great ride."

Francis Woods pulled Feathered Gale up at fence 27 and said: "He boiled up at the start and was never travelling after.

That was not a problem for Lord Gyllene who had shrugged off the persistent challenge of Suny Bay by the third last and who kept galloping strongly to win by 25 lengths. "He was actually idling in front. I didn't look around until the run in and when I did I couldn't see anything behind me but I kept going anyway," Dobbin said.

Suny Bay overcame his aversion to the ground to remain an honourable if distant second and the outsiders Camelot Knight and Buckboard Bounce ran past the tired top weight Master Oats to snatch third and fourth.

It was a remarkable victory for trainer Steve Brookshaw who is in only his second season as a licensed trainer, but his Aintree pedigree is sound with his uncle Tim having finished second in the race as a jockey on Wyndburgh in 1959. "Tim was unlucky that day as his leather broke at Becher's, but I couldn't ask for anything better than this. He's just murdered them really," Brookshaw said.

Owner Stan Clarke, also the owner of Newcastle and Uttoxeter race tracks, brought Lord Gyllene from New Zealand 18 months ago on the basis of a video viewing and said: "The Grand National is the most special race in the world and it's an indescribable thrill to win it. I was cheering before it started and was cheering right the way through."

Nothing was ever going to fly by Lord Gyllene and Dobbin, however, as they swept to their historic victory. In the aftermath of Saturday's fiasco, Dobbin had spoken of his embarrassment, but in company with a horse bred in New Zealand, he restored glory to Aintree.