Geoff Brown's big day at Aintree was a 'terrible experience'

Published on Tuesday 12 April 2011 17:14

GEOFF Brown yesterday admitted that St Johnstone's Scottish Cup semi-final with Motherwell will be a relaxing day out compared to the anguish and anxiety he endured watching his horse Silver By Nature run in the Grand National.

It should have been a day to remember at Aintree for the Perth club's horse-loving chairman. Instead, he's trying to wipe it from his memory bank.

Brown feared for his beloved gelding Silver By Nature as the race claimed the lives of two runners. And he revealed that the nine-year-old grey won't be risked in the Aintree race again.

The Lucinda Russell-trained contender survived to post a 12th-place finish despite unfavourable conditions. Just 19 of the 40 starters completed the race.

Brown said: "It was the worst sporting experience of my life, without a doubt. It was terrible. I have never felt more tense.

"The stress was unbelievable. Way worse than any football match. The cup semi-final on Saturday at Hampden will be much more relaxing!

"I should have listened to the voice inside me telling me not to run the horse. I should have listened to my wife Joyce.

"It was awful seeing two horses lying there dying on the first circuit and worrying myself sick about our horse and knowing it had no chance of winning. It was awful knowing what I had exposed the horse to because the risk factor was increasing by the minute.

"It was a tremendous achievement getting round the 30 fences in front of 73,000 people but that's it. We have been there, done it and won't be back.

"I couldn't believe the odds came in from 16-1 to 9-1 during the day and he set off as second favourite. That meant millions of pounds had gone on him. It was bizarre. The track had been watered overnight and there was talk of good to soft going. But it was baking hot, into the mid seventies, and all the pundits had stressed he needed heavy going to make use of his incredible stamina. Those were the conditions in races he had won. At no stage did I ever suggest punters should back him. I wasn't leading anyone up the garden path. So the next person that says they want their fiver back can expect a Glasgow kiss!"

Meanwhile, 2010 winner Don't Push It is reported to be in good form after finishing a fine third in Saturday's National. The 11-year-old gave Tony McCoy an emotional triumph in the world's most famous steeplechase 12 months ago and ran another fantastic race under top weight when trying to defend his title last weekend.

Frank Berry, racing manager for owner JP McManus, is not ruling out a third tilt at the race for the veteran but there will be no decision on that for some time yet. He said: "You'd have to be very proud of him - he ran a stormer. He jumped great and you couldn't make any excuses. AP (McCoy] was happy with everything, he just had a few pounds too much.He was entitled to have that having won the race last year, though. He's run a blinder and he's come out of it in good form. He'll be a 12-year-old next year, so it won't be easy if he's back in a year's time, but he obviously likes the place."