Hands up who had that one

The 2014 Grand National served only to increase my run of years without picking a winner, to get another Sunday phonecall off my GrandMother telling me that my tips 'weren't very good' and to further damped my reputation as someone who knows a little bit about horse racing amongst friends! Huge congratulations go to the good Dr Richard Newland who won the Grand National with Pineau De Re, one of only 12 hoses in his stable. He certainly knows how to pick the right races for his limited number of inmates, and Leighton Aspell, who himself has already retired once as a jockey, will be absolutely over the moon with this win despite perhaps not appearing it after the race! Pineau De Re's victory was also the toast of the bookmakers as at 25/1 he succeeds 66/1 and 33/1 victories in the past two years in being a fairly unfancied winner of the race. Having the likes of Double Seven, the mount of Ap McCoy who say plenty of punter's money, Monbeg Dude and Teaforthree beaten put a spring in many a bookies step coming out of Aintree that evening.

The race certainly did not pan out how I had expected, even allowing for the disappointing runs of my three selections put up on the blog. There were a lot more fallers, unseats and pulled up horses than I thought there would be, indeed we only had 18 horses out of the initial 40 finish (Battle Group didn't really start, meaning the field was down to 39 before we had gone 5 strides). Tidal Bay was unfortunate to be brought down but I certainly didn't expect Teaforthree to fall, they were two horses that looked very solid place propositions to me before the race and when friends told me of their bets on one of the two market leaders I said they had a great chance to recoup some e/w money...wrong again! You have to feel for Henry Brooke who looked to be having a whale of a time up front on board Across the Bay before the loose Tidal Bay carried him right across the track and to the back of the field once young Brooke had manages to assert control over his mount once again. In the end he did very well to get 14th place. We only had one faller at the chair in Teaforthree and pleasingly all 40 horses were safe and sound after the race, always a good sign and one which will hopefully mean we don't have further calls for changes to the great race.

Apart from the winner a horse who comes out of the race with tremendous credit is Rocky Creek, Paul Nicholls charge ridden by Noel Fehily. He was the only horse who finished in the first 16 to carry over 11 stone in weight (indeed he lugged 11 stone 5 lbs round the 4.5 mile trip). This really does look to prove, despite the easier fences, the National still is a real test of stamina as carrying this weight proved beyond many other horses in the race. Rocky Creek did look a potential class angle before the race and the fact he carried this weight in a good performance backs this up, especially given his proximity to the pace, so it will be interesting to see what Nicholls does with him next year.

It seems we will see this year's winner heading to the race next year, all being well. His trainer has confirmed that is the target and he will be given a well earned rest for this season; no-one would argue that Pineau De Re doesn't deserves it! In the jumps racing scene we now head towards the season finale at Sandown Park and the end-of-April Punchestown festival as the flat season starts to get underway, the Guineas is now less than a month away unbelievably! Time to get ready for the change of codes and put the tweed back in the cupboard as the summer game fast approaches.

Thanks very much for reading and I hope you fared better than me in yesterday's big race!