grand national / 3e2n2t

Red Rum - the Greatest of Them All
29/03/11

The late great Red Rum is undoubtedly the most well-known and successful Grand National horse of all time.

Red Rum
field-galleries.co.uk

In fact, as testament to "Rummy's" greatness, he is buried adjacent to the winning post at Aintree. His epitaph reads: "Respect this place, this hallowed ground, a legend here his rest has found, his feet would fly, our spirits soar, he earned our love for evermore". He certainly did.

Red Rum's first National attempt came in 1973. Ridden by Brian Fletcher, the then 8-year old trailed Crisp for much of the second circuit, eventually catching him almost on the line to win by just three quarters of a length. It was before the days you could bet in play, and it's probably just as well as many punters would have lost their shirts.

Crisp's own performance was remarkable in light of Red Rum's subsequent achievements in the great race. He was giving Red Rum an amazing one and a half stones; Rummy had to beat the course record to catch him and jockey Richard Pitman who went on to become a racing pundit for the BBC. The race was one of the most memorable Ginger McCain.

When Red Rum died in October 1995, aged 30, his ing made the front pages of the country's national newspapers as befits the greatest National legend of all; the beloved "Rummy".