For the first time in a while – since April 2018, in fact – Grand National day at Aintree on Saturday was, for this spectator at least, an almost entirely positive experience. It was a race with all the drama and spectacle that got many of us hooked on racing in the first place, but no fallers, no serious injuries and a winner, I Am Maximus, whose breathtaking turn of foot on the run-in will live long in the memory.
The contrast to the frenetic scenes over the first circuit last year could scarcely have been more complete. Three of the four fallers 12 months ago came as 39 horses surged over the first two fences at high speed, and the knock-on effects were significant. Five more runners were badly hampered by a faller, and two unseated their riders as a result, while in all, eight horses were seriously impeded at some stage, either by a faller or a loose horse.
