The history of the Grand National Jockeys. From George Stevens through to Bob Champion. The Grand National always has stories to tell and often it is the human interest stories of what these jockeys have been through.
The dream of every amateur or professional National Hunt rider is to join the role call of Grand National jockeys, a list that is no less than a 'Who's Who' of the greatest riders who have competed over the most daunting equine racecourse, the challenge that is the Grand National Steeplechase.
Heading the list of most successful Grand National jockeys is George Stevens, a man who rode no less than five winners of the great race in the years between 1856 and 1870. Stevens must have had quite a knack of finding the best route around Aintree, the home of Grand National racing, as he managed to triumph not only on fancied runners such as 7/2 The Colonel (1870), but also on outsiders such as the 25/1 chance Freetrader, in 1856.
Lester Piggott is rightly remembered as probably the greatest ever British Flat racing jockey, but he was obviously just following in the family tradition that saw his grandfather Ernie ride the winner of both the 1912 and 1919 Grand Nationals.
Fulke Walwyn and Bruce Hobbs, two great future racehorse trainers, managed to hit the headlines as Grand National-winning jockeys in the years leading up to the Second World War; Walwyn partnered Reynoldstown to his second Grand National success in 1936, and Hobbs was with 40/1 shot Battleship two years later.
Pat Taaffe, the jockey most notable for his legendary partnership with the outstanding Arkle, twice added his name to the list of Grand National winning jockeys when scoring on Quare Times in 1955, a horse who gave trainer Vincent O'Brien an unprecedented hat-trick in the race that has not been equalled in the modern era. Taaffe had to wait until 1970 to gain his second victory, this time on Gay Trip, a 15/1 shot in the betting, for trainer Fred Winter.
The 1970s, of course, were dominated by the legend that is Red Rum, Ginger McCain's local hero winning in 1973 and 1974 under Brian Fletcher, before going into the record books when coming back to score again as a 12-year-old under Tommy Stack, landing a stack of popular bets at odds of 9/1.
The last amateur to register success as a jockey in the Grand National was Marcus Armytage, who rode Mr Frisk to victory in the fastest time ever, back in 1990.
The ever popular Ruby Walsh is the last rider to partner two Grand National winners, doing the trick on Papillon (2000) before partnering Hedgehunter, who was the subject of a massive public betting coup when winning the great race in 2005.
One notable rider missing from the list of winning Grand National jockeys is the mighty Tony McCoy, the Irishman having tried time and again to add his name to the roll of honour but doing no better than second place on King John's Castle.
The great appeal of the Grand National is that it often throws up a fairytale story, and the 2009 renewal was no exception. 100/1 shot Mon Mome stunned the public, but catapulted virtually unknown journeyman jockey Liam Treadwell into the international spotlight.
If he does nothing else in his career, Treadwell will always be remembered as one of the rare band of winning Grand National jockeys.
To see the market for the 2009 Grand National, follow this link to Betfair now.
