Saturday 9th April 2022 marks the 174th running of the Grand National and after the disruptions of the last two renewals, you can guarantee fans and punters alike will cram into Aintree to celebrate the pinnacle of the jumps season.
Of course, last year’s race – won by 11/1 chance Minella Times and jockey Rachael Blackmore – was a moment in history, not least with Blackmore winning the centrepiece, after her exceptional showing at Cheltenham – but with the race being held behind closed doors.
However, the 2020 edition will always be remembered. Of course, the global pandemic put paid to the iconic annual race taking place altogether, and instead, a virtual race was televised. And no one who has an interest in Grand National betting could have predicted Potters Corner at odds of 18/1 winning it – ahead of favourite and dual-winner, Tiger Roll, as well as this year’s favourite, Any Second Now.
2020 had marked the first time since the end of World War II that the National didn’t go ahead – a milestone in itself. However, the 1993 race also went down in history as ‘the race that never was’ – after there was no winner and it was declared void. 30 of the 39 runners had carried on running after a false start, and seven horses even completed the race – which the Jockey Club decided not to re-run.
It was a strange few months after the curtain closed at Cheltenham, with racing postponed the following week amid the pandemic. And consequently, the National was postponed as a result of the lockdown measures. It wasn’t until June that the sport took place again – and when it returned, meetings took place behind closed doors.
One of the biggest talking points around the Grand National being cancelled was that the favourite, Tiger Roll, had been a gunning for a third successive victory in the race – a feat only managed by a legendary racehorse, Red Rum. Given the controversies that have since surrounded the horse’s owner Michael O’Leary and the handicapper Martin Greenwood, it’s a feat we may never see again – as the two-time hero was withdrawn from the race both last year, and ahead of this year’s renewal.
ITV Racing staged the computer-simulated running – using computer-generated imagery, and a virtual field of 40 horses and jockeys, which were being cheered on by thousands of virtual racegoers – while, millions watched on intently at home. The simulation was made up of many mathematical algorithms, using data from the horses’ previous performances – taking into account factors such as age, weight, form, and weather conditions. The coverage was watched by nearly 5 million viewers. For context, nearly 10m viewers tuned in for Tiger Roll’s second victory in 2019 – with 8.8m watching last year’s renewal.
And to the winner. Potters Corner had previously won the real-life Welsh Grand National, with teenage jockey Jack Tudor in the saddle. The race had all the drama from a typical running – with horses falling at and refusing Aintree’s gruelling fences.
Walk-In The Mill (16/1) finished second, while Any Second Now (10/1) came third. Since 2017, virtual runnings have taken place and have proved largely accurate. Who knows if the 2020 edition went ahead if Potters Corner could have won ahead of the favourite and “the people’s horse.”
After the race, Christian Williams, the Welsh trainer of Potters Corner described the race as “brilliant”, explaining:
“I watched it with the kids and now my Twitter’s gone absolutely mad and I’ve had lots of text messages, even from people outside of racing who watched it and got excited. It seems like everyone got into it. Things are rubbish at the moment and it’s nice that they did something like that.”
While all eyes now turn to the 2022 renewal, the virtual edition of 2020 will surely never be forgotten.
