Wednesday 26 September 2018

Mon Mome Wins Grand National At Odds of 100/1


Proficiently trained by Venetia Williams, the nine-year-old Mon Mome began to slowly overtake his closest challengers, one by one, and lastly gained adequate momentum to triumph in the 2009 Grand National. This was an extraordinarily unique first for the odd shot, his maiden success in what’s generally known as the John Smith’s Grand National, in customary commemoration of the event’s corporate sponsors.

Besides the scenic sights and exuberant sounds that conventionally describe the annual challenge, it was all but Liam Treadwell’s stunning conquest that decently wrapped up the 162nd unveiling of the ageless Grand National equine steeplechase. Pretty predictably, the yearly racing battle was colourfully staged at the old Aintree Racecourse, located within the characteristically busy Liverpudlian environs in England.

The noteworthy equestrian duel took place on 4 April 2009 and featured the usual 40-horse clutter that included celebrated names like Ruby Walsh and Timmy Murphy. Commonly viewed as a hard-to-surprise outsider before the showpiece kicked off, the deceptively self-effacing French-trained wonder finally surprised all…everyone was evidently caught off-guard as the astonishing rookie vigorously sprung over the closing stretches to a genuinely superlative finish.

The out-of-the-ordinary finish surprised the entire throng jostling for an eyeful of the century-old chase. Complete wonderment swept across the cheering sidelines as Mon Mome impeccably sprinted toward the Elbow, before dashing swiftly past the yesteryear’s champion Comply or Die, establishing a decisive win by a thumping 12 lengths! The lucky jockey piloting the finely practised mount – the then chiefly unfamiliar Liam Treadwell aged 23 – suddenly won himself a grand stint of glittering fame.

In fact, this became a particularly incredible record for the tender equestrian sports chap, especially noting the truth that he implausibly outdid exceptionally consummate racing giants like Paul Nicholls and Paul Moloney, with the former commanding a not-so-inspiring fourth position.

Then a recently crowned Hennessy Gold Cup champion, State of Play had rather faintly eclipsed Nicholls’ My Will to scoop a fairly prestigious third finish. By his evident excitement upon the rare marvel at Aintree, the winning racer’s mirthful mien easily confirmed that he really delighted in his newfound celebrity status as one of the youngest grabbers of the highly coveted Grand National title.

A tremendously deserving entry worth several honourable mentions – the immortal Tony McCoy (of course!)- was also competing. However, his disappointingly luckless mount (Butler’s Cabin) ended up unsuccessfully, instantly jeopardizing the numberless high-stake bets faithfully wagered by sufficiently confident equine gaming aficionados. Actually, the suddenly ill-fated pair technically ‘failed’ to participate in the animated chase as they suffered two false starts.

In some way, it was a Young Turk’s turn to join the esteemed ranks of illustrious veterans of the olden gallant game that include the impossible McCoy and the timeless Walsh…it Liam Treadwell’s and his faithful exotic runner’s round to taste their record Aintree grandeur. It was an absolutely ‘powerful statement’, so to use the juvenile champ’s own words proudly voiced in a hysterical post-victory interview session with worldwide sports journalists.


Notably, the demonstrably soaring novice congratulated the dauntless horse’s sturdy speed right from the outset, saying that he’d well tolerably maintained a perfect pace up to the magical winning mark.

Following the fantastic performance, Treadwell gently quipped that the awesome feeling then coursing all through his entire little being was simply ‘immense’…modestly admitting that the heroic feat’s excitement had not yet sunk in; and that all he had to say was that it was all ‘plain unbelievable’. Deservedly applauding Mon Mome’s mid-course tenacity, the agitated jockey was all praises for his remarkably plucky runner.

The oddly successful victor had just broken an utterly winless racing spell as a fledgeling professional rider…and he for sure had every good reason to laud his attention-grabbing mount, adoringly describing him as an unyielding conqueror who was ever ‘so genuine’! As the media interviewing excitedly went on, the blossoming starter cheerily repeated that the dashing 9-year-old was to him an ‘absolute pleasure’ to steer across the appallingly testing circuit. The patently fortunate beginner admitted that he hadn’t known just how far ahead of the other competitors he was and that it all struck him a most sensational surprise in the end.

A sizable share of this newfound delight was Venetia Williams’, too; as she happened to have trained the starring horse in question. The mainly unsophisticated trainer hadn’t even dreamed of managing such an excellent act, going by her jovial press statements. While she’d previously entertained the optimistic prospect of enjoying some modest fame someday, it just hadn’t occurred to her that she would soon top the ultimate charts.

Befittingly lauding the bold product of her supposedly inexperienced hands, Venetia Williams exceedingly commended Liam’s terrific job. What's more, the freshly coroneted equine instructor threw a well-merited morsel of congrats to the unnamed lass who took care of the fĂȘted horseback in the domestic yards.

Ms Williams dodged the ever-luring lure to conceitedly claim all the glory and humbly explained the grand victory as a flawlessly executed team task – a rather joint effort whereby all hardworking participants merited a worthy piece of the resultant fame. And she concluded the media briefing by issuing a generous pat-on-the-back to David Johnson – the unforgettable man who owned the second-best horse.

And on his part, Johnson reciprocated these bighearted remarks – maintaining that his little team was reportedly ‘happy enough’ to have emerged second in the star-packed clash just successfully concluded.


To cap it all off, here, below, highlighted are the first 5 contesting pairs…and in the exact order of their crossing the finishing line and monetary prizes: Mon Mome/Liam Treadwell (£506,970), Comply Or Die/Timmy Murphy (£190,980), My Will/Ruby Walsh (£95,580), State of Play/Paul Moloney (£47,790), and Cerium/Keith Mercer (£23,940).