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April 4, 2004

GRAND NATIONAL HAT-TRICK

And so yesterday was the 157th Grand National, the one time during the year when I go to the bookies and have a flutter on a sport I know absolutely nothing about. Previous years have been rather successful, I managed to pick the winner in 2002, and again in 2003 and so this year I was on a hat-trick.

Come 11am on the morning of the National, I hadn't seen a form guide let alone considered which horse to select, so a quick email to Simon S resulted in an online form guide appearing on my screen. In the knowledge that Simon had put £10 on the favourite Clan Royal to win at 11-1, I knew I had to pick something different, so I chose. I chose David's Lad at 12-1.

So off I went to the bookies, but halfway through filling in the betting slip, I watched a bit of the BBC coverage and had a change of heart. Amberleigh House at 16-1, that'll do. But what if David's Lad came in as winner? Then I'd be gutted at changing my mind at the last minute. So £5 went on both, and both to win.

Back home, everyone was out so it was just me, the tv and my ticket. After an unexpected delay, finally the National got underway with Hedgehunter taking an early lead, closely followed by favourite Clan Royal and a cheering Simon S.

Minutes went by, horses fell, riders were unseated and slowly the runners reduced in number. There was no mention of either David's Lad or Amberleigh House and the front-runners were pulling away from the rest.

'And there towards the back is David's Lad', the commenter excitedly announced, which had my attention back straight away, but then I saw the distance between my horse and the front and I lost heart once more.

Clan Royal was still up front, David's Lad was towards the back and Amberleigh House was nowhere to be seen, so I sent a disappointed text message to Simon S, reading:

'My horse is at the back and the other has yet to be mentioned' to which his reply was a cocky and expectant 'mine's second'.....

'Git's going to win £110' I thought, as I sat back in my chair once more and tossed my ticket onto the table in front of me. Still they galloped, still the jockeys whipped, and still they fell.

'It's Hedgehunter out front, closely followed by Clan Royal and Lord Atterbury, last year's winner Monty's Pass closing the gap and the pack some distance behind as they approach the next jump'

'And Hedgehunter's a faller, Hedgehunter is a faller, leaving Clan Royal and Lord Atterbury out front with Amberleigh House now closing'

My ears pricked up and before I knew it I was on the edge of my seat. There were only a couple of jumps to go and I could almost hear Simon's yells of encouragement for Clan Royal.

'GO AMBERLEIGH!' I yelled at the television, clutching my ticket. The gap was closing as the final furlongs beckoned.

'GO AMBERLEIGH!' I shouted again, my nose pressed against the television screen, my hand scrunching up my ticket in the sheer excitement of the event and violenting shaking it at the television. 'GO AMBERLEIGH!' I screamed once more.

'And Amberleigh House has caught up with the pack, it's Clan Royal from Lord Atterbury, Clan Royal from Lord Atterbury and Amberleigh House. AMBERLEIGH HOUSE is going through, Amberleigh House is galloping for the line.'

'YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHH' I yelled, jumping up and down in the living room, hitting my arms on the low ceiling. 'GO AMBERLEIGH, WOO HOOO'.

'It's Amberleigh House from Clan Royal and Lord Atterbury, Amberleigh House a length ahead'.

'GOOOOOOOOOOOO'.

'Amberleigh House wins the 157th Martell-Cognac Grand National from Clan Royal and Lord Atterbury'.

'YAAAAAAARRRGGGGHHHHH!! WOO HOO!! YOU BEEEAAAUUUUTY' I shouted as a danced a victorious jig around the living room, vigourously shaking my winning ticket out in front of me.

And so the first thing I did was call Simon S to inform him of my win. His horse was still second.

After a few gloating phone calls to various people and wearing an extremely smug grin, I ambled off to the bookies to collect my winnings for the third year in a row. Utterly marvellous.

Posted by jonola14 at April 4, 2004 3:29 PM

Posted by: Jac at April 4, 2004 3:46 PM

Posted by: shunta at April 4, 2004 4:42 PM

Posted by: Wibbler at April 4, 2004 5:47 PM

Posted by: michelle at April 5, 2004 9:59 PM

Posted by: shifty at April 15, 2004 6:30 AM