Remember what Gary Lineker said about football being a simple game – you play for 120 minutes and the Germans win on penalties? The Grand National now has its equivalent. Tipping the winner of the most fiendish handicap in racing really is a simple game. Forget spending weeks assessing the form, weights, trends and attributes of the 34 runners. Just trust in Willie and let history do the rest.
For a moment or two, when Jordans established a seven-length lead on the turn for home, the prospect of a 28-1 upset loomed large. But then I Am Maximus began to purr, a packed crowd of 59,962 started to stir, and soon history was being made in a chaotic and stirring race.
Not only was this trainer Willie Mullins’s fourth win, equalling Fred Rimell and Ginger McCain. It was also owner JP McManus’s fourth victory – a record. Most impressively of all, this was Mullins’s third straight win, a feat last achieved by Vincent O’Brien between 1953 and 1955.
“He is just a superstar,” said Mullins. “He comes out and does what he has to do. He jumps and gallops and stays. Nothing fazes him.”
But as Mullins said, I Am Maximus and his jockey, Paul Towend, needed that calmness under fire. They were being blocked several times on the second circuit and again when Jordans kicked for glory. “Paul gave it a fantastic ride around the inside and then he had to change tack,” said Mullins.
“First Champ Kiely was in his way and then everywhere he went one of my horses was in his way. When Jordans kicked off the third-last I was thinking ‘Has he stolen it?’ But you can’t, unless you have Arkle.
“Paul didn’t get flustered. He just sat and sat and tried to pick out the gap. When he got out, I thought, ‘wow’. You could see it was all over, unless something came from the clouds.”
Townend quickly repaid the favour as he assessed the race. “It’s some performance to get the horse to turn up three years in a row,” he said. “I am a lucky man to be riding for Willie Mullins.”
Asked about I Am Maximus, who he also rode to victory in 2024, Townend said: “He is a quirky devil, but he is a brave horse and very clever. He’s been very good to me.”
When Quare Times won the last of O’Brien treble in 1955, the Guardian’s man reported that “if one is to believe the bookmakers, it filled the pockets of an uncommon lot of people”. It was the same on Saturday as I Am Maximus’s odds plummeted from 7-1 to 9-2 favourite during a frenetic final 30 minutes of betting before the off.
One punter had £100,000 at 8-1. They will have eaten well and the bookies’ pain could well continue because McManus confirmed he wants I Am Maximus to be back next year in a bid to equal Red Rum’s three National victories.
“We’ve a bit to do to catch up, but we will definitely try,” said McManus. “Red Rum is the figurehead of the National and it is nice to be mentioned in the same breath.”
McManus praised Mullins and Townsend, but the legendary punter – who was nicknamed The Sundance Kid in Ireland’s betting rings in the 1970s – was rather more reticent whether he had backed the winner. “I had a little on,” came the familiar reply.
Mullins will turn 70 in September, but he clearly has no intention of slowing down, let alone stopping. He praised his team for getting his horses fit and primed despite the wettest winter he had experienced in 40 years and made it clear he had more kingdoms to conquer.
“I am buying horses and trying to build,” he said. “I love racing. I love the people in racing. I like people in sport. Racing is a game of disappointments. You lose more than you win. It’s a great leveller. So when you have a good day you really enjoy it.”
The smile on his face told you he was revelling in another glorious day, but also that his lust for more history-making moments remains unsated.
