Ami Desbois Grand National Wins
Ami Desbois has never won the Grand National.
They have never finished the race.
During the main part of his career, Ami Desbois was trained by Graeme McPherson before a late switch to Fergal O’Brien when the two trainers decided to partner up rather than have separate yards. It was under the care of McPherson when he would go to the Grand National, running in the 2021 edition of the race, which was won by Minella Times.
Sadly things did not go to plan for the big outsider that day, he was sent off at 100/1 for the race and would fail to finish, falling at the 15th fence, The Chair on the first circuit. Foaled in 2010, Ami Desbois worked his way up into the higher end of handicap chase races during the peak of his career, and while he didn’t win too many, he ran well in defeat a number of times.
Full Results
| Year | Result | Prize Money | Handicap | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Fence 15 - Brought Down | - | 10-2 | Kielan Woods | Graeme McPherson |
Ami Desbois’ Early Years
Bred in France, Ami Desbois didn’t begin his racing career there. Instead, he started with Graeme McPherson, and that began with running in national hunt flat races. He ran in four of those, failing to get a win on the board, but these were all over two miles, a distance far too short for him.
When going hurdling, he moved straight up to three miles, and that produced a second on hurdling debut, a much better run and one that showed what he could do. He ran second again before finishing third in a Grade Two novice hurdle and then eighth in a Grade One novice hurdle.
He would win his next two starts, a maiden hurdle and a handicap, to finally get his reward for some good runs over hurdles. By the end of the season, he would have four hurdle wins to his name, plus a second in a Grade Two, and then third and fifth in two Grade One races.
Chasing would come next, where the horse would make a good start, winning his first two races.
Ami Desbois’ Big Race Wins
Ami Desbois won a total of seven races during his career but failed to win any at a high level. He won two novice hurdle races, two handicap hurdles, a couple of novice chase races and, at the end of his career, a hunter chase.
Despite that record, he did attend some of the biggest tracks in the country and run in a good number of big handicap races, of course, including the Grand National in 2021.