To those competing and those watching the Grand National clearly still rules

What shone through so vividly in the latest unforgettable chapter of the Grand National is how much it continues to mean to all those who yearn to win it.

The old race has been changed considerably. The fences are a bit smaller and the distance a little shorter but the race's standing is every bit as tall and mighty as ever. You had only to see the reactions of Davy Russell, Gordon Elliott, Michael O'Leary – and, indeed, David Mullins – for comprehensive proof.

It was perhaps most evident in the face and words of Russell. Here is a man well into the back nine of his career. He has added his name to so many of the sport's crown jewels, not least the Cheltenham Gold Cup, yet he made it absolutely clear this topped everything that had gone before.