Grand National festival
premium
To see a woman win the Grand National is one of the greatest joys of my life
Rachael Blackmore: 'She reminds me of Ruby Walsh – although less grey or grumpy'Credit: David Davies (Getty Images)
This was the Grand National where everyone won.
In July 1789, 50 years before Lottery won the first Grand National, the French revolutionaries stormed the Bastille. In Britain the radical Whig politician Charles James Fox pronounced: "How much the greatest event that ever happened in the world! And how much the best!"
If you stick "racing" in front of "the world" you have Saturday's tectonic-plate shifter of a National in a glorious nutshell.
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
Published on inGrand National festival
Last updated
Copy
more inGrand National festival
- Grand National 2025: date, preview and best bets
- 'I'd love to have a crack at the Grand National' - Flooring Porter team weigh up Aintree following Listowel heroics
- 'They had no chance and kept others out' - Davy Russell believes qualifying races for the Grand National should be introduced
- Bookmakers report Grand National turnover as 'flat' compared with last year
- 'It's a different feeling, it's unique, it's the Grand National' - Aintree hero I Am Maximus gets a huge homecoming welcome
more inGrand National festival
- Grand National 2025: date, preview and best bets
- 'I'd love to have a crack at the Grand National' - Flooring Porter team weigh up Aintree following Listowel heroics
- 'They had no chance and kept others out' - Davy Russell believes qualifying races for the Grand National should be introduced
- Bookmakers report Grand National turnover as 'flat' compared with last year
- 'It's a different feeling, it's unique, it's the Grand National' - Aintree hero I Am Maximus gets a huge homecoming welcome