Liberty breaks free to land dream triumph for Dot Love and Ben Dalton

The Irish Grand National was for so long the race that that epitomised David’s enhanced prospects of glory against the Goliaths of the jumps scene.

It wasn’t that the quality wasn’t there, because the heroic feats of Arkle, Flyingbolt and Desert Orchid are all cherished parts of its storied history.

However, in many ways it was the romantic heartbeat of Irish racing, and even in recent years when it has been dominated by familiar faces there has been no shortage of heart-warming human interest strands.

At this point in time, though, the 2013 contest stands out as a seminal edition, secured as it was by the longest-priced winner of the race for a modest stable and a journeyman conditional jockey.

When Liberty Counsel turned up at Fairyhouse, she was an unconsidered 50-1 shot who had finished out with the washing in the Kim Muir at Cheltenham. She was best known as a regular at Kilbeggan, the local venue of her Danish-born trainer Dot Love, herself more renowned at the time for pre-training many of Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown stars in Mullingar.

Liberty Counsel’s 21-year-old jockey was Ben Dalton, a five-pound claimer who seized his opportunity to emerge from relative obscurity with aplomb. As Paul Townend eased the Willie Mullins-trained Away We Go into Liberty Counsel’s slipstream two-out, the natural order looked like it was about to be restored.

Alas, Liberty Counsel and Dalton would not be denied, repelling the big guns for a brave and famous triumph. The race has since become the preserve of more elite battalions, but the magic of the Irish Grand National is that its legacy is synonymous with the potential for a fairytale. Let’s hope that prospect is never lost.

Boylesports Irish Grand National card

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