Walk In The Mill Grand National Wins
Walk In The Mill has never won the Grand National.
Their best finish to date was in 2019 where they came 4th. They were ridden by James Best and trained by Robert Walford.
Walk In The Mill only made it to the Grand National once, which came in 2019, but during his career, he had success over the big fences at Aintree in another race and would become a fan favourite, partly because of that.
Foaled in 2010, this horse was born in France and began his career there before being bought and moved to the Robert Walford yard for a career in the UK.
Not a huge winner, the horse would eventually make his way to the Aintree Grand National in 2019, where he would perform with great credit. Finishing fourth behind the great Tiger Roll, 16 lengths off the leader, he stayed on nicely after being outpaced but didn’t have enough left in the tank to really push hard and get involved in the finish.
Sadly, he was prepared with the 2020 Grand National in mind, but that race was cancelled, meaning we would only see him in the race once.
Full Results
| Year | Result | Prize Money | Handicap | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 4 | £65,000 | 10-4 | James Best | Robert Walford |
Dual Winner Over the Big Aintree Fences
Away from the Grand National, Walk In The Mill did have success over the bigger obstacles at Aintree, winning the Becher Chase in back-to-back seasons, in both 2018 and 2019. Those runs came on the Grand National course, but over 3m2f, so a mile shorter than the Grand National itself.
That was a telling factor in those wins, as he had enough stamina in the locker to really dominate over that distance but not quite enough to have something left for the finish in the Grand National.
Walk In The Mill’s Early Years
Kicking off his career in France, Walk In The Mill would make his racecourse debut in December 2014, running in a four-year-old chase, so instantly going over the bigger obstacles. Pulled up that day, he would compete better afterwards with some better efforts but would have to wait until his fifth start to get a win on the board.
One more run would come without success, and after that, it was over to the UK, where he would instantly begin in handicap chase races, using his mark from France, something trainer Robert Walford clearly thought he could work off.
He had five runs without a win, but did well, finishing second on three occasions and third on one, so there was certainly something there, but winning was not coming easy.
In his second UK season, Walk In The Mill came to life, winning his first two starts, beginning the season on a mark of 121 and ending it on 138. A win at Exeter came first before a huge 22-length win at Wincanton, which really put this horse up a level, and resulted in him running in a Grade Three handicap at Cheltenham, such was his improvement.
Walk In The Mill’s Big Race Wins
The two wins in the Becher Chase are the only two big race wins for Walk In The Mill. He’s run in quite a few nice races, despite not being a regular winner, moving up through the ranks thanks to a combination of wins and placed efforts.
The first Becher Chase win, in 2018, came by four and a half lengths and set this horse up as a potential for the Grand National. The second was also a good effort, winning in 2019 by two and a half lengths, again with an eye on the Grand National the following season, a race which was never run.
Walk In The Mill did return to the Becher Chase looking to make it three in a row in 2020, but fell heavily at the sixth fence to crash out of the contest.