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April 9, 2005

GRAND NATIONAL DAY

So in two hours time, the annual Grand National will get underway at Aintree racecourse in Liverpool.

Historically, I have had some success with the Grand National. In 2002, I won on an each-way bet, but other bets on the race cancelled out any winnings. In 2003, whilst standing in the West Stand at White Hart Lane, I witnessed Monty's Pass gallop home to earn me a tidy £30 and of course last year was the mightily entertaining Amberleigh House incident that netted a wonderful £80.

Of course this year, several people have asked me which horse I am backing so that they can also back the same horse and take advantage of my Grand National luck. Being an absolute bastard, I have told them all different horses (Clan Royal, Strong Resolve, Forest Gunner) so as to throw them off course. I have just returned from the bookies, having placed £10 on Hedgehunter at 10-1.

Two hours to go, and counting...

UPDATE: 17:00
Splendid - having told Shaun H that I was backing Clan Royal, I received a phone call just after the horse had pulled up midway through the race, from an ecstatic Shaun chanting 'ha ha ha, your horse is out'. "That's what you think" I replied and hung up.

Once again I was standing in front of the television, shouting at horses to "RUUUUUUUUUUUN", hot iron in one hand, betting slip in the other. "GOOOOOOOOOOO Hedgehunter" I yelled as the latter part of the race panned out. Shaking the iron ferociously as I cheered, Hedgehunter slowly pulled away from the rest of the pack and cantered home in front to earn me not only a £100 return on my one annual horse race bet, but an extraordinary fourth Grand National win in a row.

That was the cue for umpteen phone calls from Messrs Stacpoole, Hunter (snr), Hunter (jnr) and MacHorton, all boasting that they had won, so somehow we had ALL backed the same horse without any conferring. The thing is, Hunter (snr) had it each way (I've heard that about him) and MacHorton had a load of other bets which cancelled out the majority of his winnings, so it seems that only Simon S and I have considerably profited. Utterly, utterly splendid and what a marvellous sport.

Four in a row, four in a row, four in a row.....

*dances jig*

Posted by jonola14 at April 9, 2005 1:59 PM

Posted by: Wibbler at April 9, 2005 2:26 PM

Posted by: Jonola at April 18, 2005 10:21 PM