Grand National report:If Britain's champion trainer Paul Nicholls felt the Grand National was his unlucky race before, then the words jinx and hoodoo might be spinning around his mind this morning after Silver Birch's remarkable 33 to 1 victory in Saturday's Aintree spectacular.
Silver Birch was being expertly lined up by Nicholls for the world's most famous steeplechase two years ago when heat was found in one of his legs just a month beforehand. Having won a Welsh National that season, and with a win in the Becher Chase under his belt too, the injury looked to have robbed the horse of his big Liverpool chance, and Nicholls of another chance of breaking his National duck.
That the horse's Aintree comeback the following year ended when falling at the Chair looked to only confirm the suspicion that Silver Birch's best days were behind him. When he was sold for only 20,000 guineas last May, Nicholls was hardly likely to have been wracked by anxiety at the idea of a stayer on the slide with crocked legs coming back to haunt him.
Certainly no one figured that his new owner, Brian Walsh from Kilcock in Co Kildare, was getting one of the bargains of the decade that would end up netting him close on half a million euro jackpot. Yet that is what unfolded on a swelteringly hot afternoon that re-established the Aintree National's lottery credentials.
A streak of well-fancied winners came to a sudden crashing halt as Robbie Power drove Silver Birch to a three-quarter length defeat of McKelvey with another 33 to 1 Irish runner, Slim Pickings back in third, and the 100 to 1 shot Philson Run filling fourth place.
McKelvey, ridden by the jockey find of the season in Britain, Aidan O'Brien's nephew, Tom O'Brien, looked a slightly unlucky loser after a series of unsuccessful starts resulted in an eight minute delay to the off-time. He was also found to be lame afterwards.
Apart from that, there was also drama when Graphic Approach, a faller at Becher's second time round, collapsed on the hurdle track and was still being treated an hour later which led to the abandonment of the bumper race.
But there were no hard luck stories for the main market fancies with Point Barrow falling at the first and the gambled on Monkerhostin refusing at the seventh. The previous winners, Hedgehunter and Numbersixvalverde, stayed on to be sixth and ninth respectively in a final-finisher tally of 12.
Of the four horses that Nicholls saddled, Thisthatandtother did best but he was pulled up before the last, something that won't have helped his trainer's bemusement at the riotous scenes in the winner's enclosure.
There could hardly be a greater contrast between Britain's top trainer and Gordon Elliott, a 29-year-old former amateur jockey who only started training a year ago and has never saddled a winner in Ireland.
Instead, prior to Saturday, he had travelled to pick up three minor prizes at some of the lesser tracks in Britain. Silver Birch hadn't won for him before the weekend but he had taken Elliott to Cheltenham where he ran second in the cross-country chase and guaranteed him some vital high-profile exposure for his fledgling career. But it doesn't get any more high-profile than the Grand National.
"We thought he would run a good race but this is a dream come true," said Elliott, who rode 200 point-to-point winners and 50 under rules during his riding career. "We only got the horse a year ago and sweetened him up with some cross-country races. I couldn't believe how perfect he was the whole way."
Power felt the same and said: "I couldn't have planned it better. I had only one hairy moment when Bewleys Berry fell in front of me at Becher's second time but we managed to avoid him.
"For a few strides after the second last, I thought I wasn't going to get to Barry (Geraghty on Slim Pickings) but he has winged the last and ran all the way to the line."
Silver Birch is finished for the season but the first fence faller Point Barrow could bid for some compensation in the Betfred Gold Cup at Sandown later in the month.
"It will depend on the ground," said his trainer Pat Hughes. "He just put too much power into the jump and came down - it happens."
That is probably the sort of philosophical attitude that a certain top trainer across the water is trying to maintain as well.
GRAND NATIONAL CHASE: (HANDICAP) (GRADE 3) (CLASS 1) £700,000 added 6YO plus 4m 4f Penalty Value £399,140.00.
SILVER BIRCH (Ire); b g Clearly Bust - All Gone (Mr Brian Walsh (Co Kildare)) 10 10 6 R M Power (33-1) 1.
Mckelvey (Ire); b g Anshan - Chatty Actress (Mr N Elliott) 8 10 4 T J O'Brien (12-1) 2.
Slim Pickings (Ire); b g Scribano - Adapan (Doubtful Five Syndicate) 8 10 8 B J Geraghty (33-1) 3.
Philson Run (Ire); b g Un Desperado (Fr) - Isis (Gale Force One) 11 10 5 D Jacob (100-1) 4.
Also: 8-1 Co Fav Joes Edge pulled up, 8-1 Co Fav Monkerhostin refused, 8-1 Co Fav Point Barrow fell, 9-1 Hedgehunter, 14-1 L'ami, 14-1 Longshanks, 14-1 Numbersixvalverde 6th, 16-1 Billyvoddan pulled up, 16-1 Eurotrek pulled up, 20-1 Bothar Na pulled up, 20-1 Dun Doire pulled up, 20-1 Idle Talk unseated rider, 20-1 Simon fell, 22-1 Bewleys Berry fell, 33-1 Ballycassidy unseated rider, 33-1 Clan Royal , 33-1 Gallant Approach, 33-1 Homer Wells pulled up, 33-1 Jack High fell, 33-1 Kelami , 33-1 Royal Auclair fell, 40-1 Liberthine 5th, 50-1 Celtic Son pulled up, 50-1 Thisthatandtother pulled up, 66-1 Le Duc unseated rider, 66-1 Zabenz pulled up, 80-1 Puntal , 100-1 Cloudy Bays refused, 100-1 Graphic Approach unseated rider, 100-1 Kandjar D'allier ) fell, 100-1 Knowhere unseated rider, 100-1 Livingstonebramble unseated rider, 125-1 Naunton Brook pulled up, 125-1 The Outlier unseated rider, 125-1 Tikram unseated rider, 150-1 Sonevafushi pulled up 40 ran. ¾l; ¼l. 15, 5, 21 (G Elliott). Tote: £41.90; £8.20, £4.20, £9.80, £29.30. Tote Exacta: £667.60. CSF: £369.95. Tricast: £12,518.50.
