Horse Racing: A new National treasure - Mon Mome is 100-1 stunner

Published on Sunday 5 April 2009 23:33

SO THE Grand National is easier to predict than was once the case, is it?

The bulging satchels of the nation's bookmakers, who reported Mon Mome's 100-1 victory in the Aintree marathon as the best result they've ever had in the race, would tend to blow that theory out of the water.

It's 42 years since Foinavon famously landed the event at those odds, and if it's another 42 years before another horse does it, the layers will still be dining out on oysters and caviare courtesy of the money they made at Liverpool on Saturday.

Ladbrokes, who admitted the result was "beyond our wildest dreams" have even commissioned a special Mon Mome tie which they'll send to all their customers who managed to back the winner. Needless to say, yours truly won't be practising his Windsor knot on one of them but not many will.

However unpredictable the final outcome of the 2009 National was, what was entirely predictable was that the race would throw up a story, as it can usually be relied upon to do.

Leaving Mon Mome, who won't run again this season, out of the loop for a moment, the main characters in this year's narrative were an Aston Martin driving trainer, Venetia Williams, who was stretchered unconscious from the track when she rode in the race over 20 years ago, a septuagenarian owner, Vida Bingham, who was once an international bridge player, plus a jockey, Liam Treadwell, who only switched to jumps racing when he got too heavy for the flat.

If you need a bit of icing, the fact he was having his first ride in the National surely provides it.

Ms Williams thus became only the second member of the fairer sex to saddle the winner, much to the relief of Jenny Pitman, the only other to accomplish the feat. In her case, twice.

"We were chatting at Cheltenham and I said to Venetia it was driving me mad that everybody keeps saying I'm the only woman to train the winner of the National and it was a long time ago," said Mrs Pitman.

"She replied she had to pull her finger out and I said, yes, that's exactly what she had to do."

For his part, Treadwell must be glad he resisted any urge to enrol with WeightWatchers once he began to put on a few pounds.

"I didn't go to the winner's party and I got back to the yard about 8.30pm because I wanted to come back and thank all the staff.

"I then got home about 2am with some friends and we watched the re-run a few times. I stayed up until about 3.30am to give myself time to reflect as it was all a blur and I'll probably go home and watch the replay again.

"When I got back to the weighing room, AP McCoy was one of the first to come and congratulate me. He said I have managed to win the race at the first time of trying while he has failed 14 times so for him to take the time out to do that meant a lot to me," admitted the 23-year-old yesterday.

His success also seemed to disprove one more theory, the old chestnut about good guys never winning.

"You couldn't meet a nicer, more dedicated, likeable, or genuine hard-working lad," said Nick Gifford, another trainer who regularly uses Treadwell's services.

As the jockey was punching the air in delight after passing the post 12 lengths clear on Mon Mome, last year's winner Comply Or Die was putting in another gallant effort to finish second with My Will taking bronze and State Of Play further back in fourth.

In total, 17 of the 40 starters finished the course although, sadly, Irish raider Hear The Echo, who collapsed and died yards from the finish, wasn't one of them.

Of those who fell, Himalayan Trail's pilot Paddy Flood perhaps wins the prize for quote of the day after parting company from his mount at the first. "We didn't get very far, did we?" he said. In punting terms, few of us did.