Monday 8 May 2023

Rule The World Grand National Winner 2016

As the 169th Crabbies Grand National earnestly kicked off at the customary Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, not even the most seasoned racing pundits could expect a mere 33-1 shot to miraculously clinch a dramatic victory. All the same, that’s what exactly transpired. 

The feisty Rule the World – that little-known champ who had never bagged any other steeplechase title before, simply ran faster than all his challengers to a spectacular finish! This utterly startling win watched by millions of fans excitedly following real money casino games and Grand National, both locally and on thousands of television screens across the world. 

Ably ridden by the mud-stained David Mullins, the persistent ‘magic’ horse unbelievably outpaced The Last Samuri – the vigorously chasing runner up - by a whopping six lengths! It was enough to make me hunger for the best mobile casinos. Strenuously trailing the leading duo was the doughty Vic's Canvas – the only 13-year-old participant in the race, and who also enduringly galloped home to a distant third place. 

Rule The World indeed accomplished a once-in-a-generation horse-racing exploit. He made history as the only complete novice to secure a Grand National win, with a similar feat having been equally phenomenally marked in 1958 by Mr. What. 

Trained in Ireland by Mouse Morris, the unanticipated success seems to have been made possible by the acclaimed 67-year-old’s thorough training. The triumph attracted worldwide praise as an undisputed masterstroke, especially given the fact that the Irish ace had lost his son to carbon monoxide poisoning a year before. Morris opined that he’d not expected his horse to pull off anything better than a hard-fought third position. He reportedly quipped that he’d have still deemed a lesser performance admirable enough. 

A telling sparkle appeared on his beaming face, the jubilant trainer joked that the underrated horse had “ran on like a train...Didn’t he?” Thus rhetorically posed the delighted champion trainer; somewhat betraying an awkward readiness to put up with anyone eager to oppose his patently exaggerated claim that his gifted horse had supposedly flitted like a real train.

Besides, the overjoyed training genius revealed that the out-of-the-blue front runner had in fact suffered some slight troubles jumping in earlier training sessions. According to the respected Irish horseman, the incredibly flourishing Rule The World had also sustained career-jeopardizing injuries previously - two pelvis fractures and a few other grim mid-track accidents, for instance. 

Even so, the exceedingly proud Morris didn’t hesitate to detail that Rule The World was one of the finest horses he had trained. Summarized, Morris took immense pride in the fact that the formerly unpromising horse had just catapulted his career to new heights. 

In addition, the winning jockey enjoyed the limelight. A nephew of legendary trainer Willie Mullins, David Mullins’s magical success amply proved that he’s essentially tipped for a successful career. 

Mullins shared the veteran trainer’s misgivings concerning the horse's lack of experience - candidly telling journalists that he’d also harbored worries that the new champion would lose speed as he’d earlier exhibited slight problems jumping fences. 

The event was sponsored by Crabbies – the giant ginger-beer maker who financially supported the contest for the last time after three successive sponsorships. The high-ranking live broadcast rights went to Channel 4 for the fourth consecutive year. The widely followed championship’s field proceedings were also covered by BBC Radio, having retained airing privileges for nearly a century, since 1927.

A total of 106 potential competitors sought inclusion in the 2016 Aintree race. However, the preliminary appraisal shortened the list to 96 contenders, and an even finer confirmatory review left only 87 candidates. Making four customary reservations to cater for any eleventh-hour withdrawals, the final 40 contestants were officially announced on April 7. 

The overall winner was awarded a cash prize of £561,300. The Last Samuri (ridden by David Bass), Mullin’s closest challenger, received a comparatively smaller but still covetable bounty - £211,100. Vics Canvas, adroitly steered by Robert Dunne, got a worthy token of £105,500. The fourth and the fifth slots went to Gilgamboa/Robbie Power (£52,700) and Goonyella/Jonny Burke (£26,500) in that order.



Leave a comment if you bet on this horse

Photo: Pixabay (free)