2018 Grand National: Results, Runners & Fallers

The 2018 Grand National will be remembered for one specific news story, and that is the first time that Tiger Roll shot to fame by winning the race.

A long-time hero of the Cheltenham Festival, Tiger Roll took his fame to the next level by winning the big one at Aintree under jockey Davy Russell.

After the full distance of four miles and two furlongs, we still needed a photo to separate the front two. Tiger Roll was six lengths clear at one point but grimly held on from the fast finishing Pleasant Company with a win by a head.

Results

Result Horse Starting Price Age Handicap Prize Money Jockey Trainer
1 Tiger Roll 10/1 8 10-13 £500,000 Davy Russell Gordon Elliott
2 Pleasant Company 21/1 10 10-11 £200,000 David Mullins Willie Mullins
3 Bless The Wings 40/1 13 10-6 £100,000 Jack Kennedy Gordon Elliott
4 Anibale Fly 10/1 8 11-8 £65,000 Barry Geraghty A J Martin
5 Milansbar 25/1 11 10-6 £40,000 Bryony Frost Neil King
6 Road to Riches 33/1 11 10-5 £30,000 Sean Flanagan Noel Meade
7 Gas Line Boy 25/1 12 10-11 £20,000 Robert Dunne Ian Williams
8 Valseur Lido 66/1 9 11-7 £15,000 Keith Donoghue Henry De Bromhead
9 Vieux Lion Rouge 25/1 9 10-13 £10,000 Tom Scudamore David Pipe
10 Raz De Maree 20/1 13 10-9 £5,000 Robbie Power Gavin Cromwell
11 Seeyouatmidnight 11/1 10 10-12 - Brian Hughes Sandy Thomson
12 Baie Des Iles 16/1 7 10-8 - Ms Katie Walsh Ross O’Sullivan

Non Finishers

Horse Fence Reason Starting Price Age Handicap Jockey Trainer
Carlingford Lough Run In Pulled Up 33/1 12 11-1 Mark Walsh John Kiely
Childrens List Run In Pulled Up 66/1 8 10-8 Jonathan Burke Willie Mullins
Perfect Candidate 1 Fell 40/1 11 11-3 Alain Cawley Fergal O’Brien
Blaklion 1 Brought Down 14/1 9 11-10 Sam Twiston-Davies Nigel Twiston-Davies
I Just Know 6 Fell 14/1 8 10-8 Danny Cook Sue Smith
Houblon Des Obeaux 6 Fell 25/1 11 10-7 Charlie Deutsch Venetia Williams
Virgilio 6 Fell 50/1 9 10-8 Harry Skelton Dan Skelton
Captain Redbeard 7 Unseated Rider 20/1 9 10-7 Sam Coltherd Stuart Coltherd
Lord Windermere 8 Unseated Rider 50/1 12 10-7 Andrew Lynch Jim Culloty
Buywise 8 Unseated Rider 50/1 11 10-8 Adam Wedge Evan Williams
Final Nudge 8 Fell 33/1 9 10-6 Gavin Sheehan David Dennie
Alpha Des Obeaux 15 Fell 33/1 8 11-4 Rachael Blackmore Michael “Mouse” Morris
Saint Are 15 Brought Down 50/1 12 10-10 Ciaran Gethings Tom George
Chase The Spud 15 Pulled Up 25/1 10 10-12 Paddy Brennan Fergal O’Brien
Delusionofgrandeur 17 Pulled Up 50/1 8 10-5 Henry Brooke Sue Smith
Maggio 18 Unknown 66/1 13 10-8 Brendan Powell Jnr Patrick Griffin
The Dutchman 23 Unseated Rider 25/1 8 10-11 Harry Cobden Colin Tizzard
Shantou Flyer 26 Pulled Up 25/1 8 11-2 James Bowen Richard Hobson
Tenor Nivernais 26 Pulled Up 66/1 11 11-1 Tom O’Brien Venetia Williams
Thunder And Roses 26 Pulled Up 33/1 10 10-5 James Slevin Michael “Mouse” Morris
The Last Samuri 26 Pulled Up 20/1 10 11-7 David Bass Kim Bailey
Ucello Conti 27 Unseated Rider 16/1 10 10-10 Daryl Jacob Gordon Elliott
Total Recall 29 Pulled Up 7/1 9 11-5 Paul Townend Willie Mullins
Pendra 29 Pulled Up 80/1 10 10-8 Aidan Coleman Charlie Longsdon
Warriors Tale 29 Pulled Up 33/1 9 10-12 Sean Bowen Paul Nicholls
Double Ross 29 Pulled Up 66/1 12 10-6 Jamie Bargary Nigel Twiston-Davies

What Happened In The 2018 Grand National?

The 171st running of the Aintree Grand National went to Tiger Roll, trained by Gordon Elliott, ridden by Davy Russell and owned by the Gigginstown Stud.

The race was certainly a test of stamina, with the ground being described as heavy on the day, which certainly led to a few more horses being pulled up in the contest. Just 12 finished the race, 26 didn’t make it round and we had two horses, Regal Encore and Walk In The Mill, withdrawn on the day of the race, leaving 38 to run.

One fence was omitted during the race, which was Becher’s Brook on the second circuit, bypassed due to an injury on the track to Charlie Deutsch, rider of Houblon Des Obeaux. All 38 runners returned safely to the stables at the end of the race.grand national course and crowd 2018

Heavy Ground Makes Grand National A Real Test

The Grand National is run over four miles and two furlongs, a tough enough test for any horse. This year was made even worse by rain, forcing the ground to turn heavy and increase the test further. Stamina really played a part in the contest, any horse that had doubts overstaying the trip did not carry through, while the guaranteed stayers came to the fore.

This also impacted on the number of finishers too, just 12 from 38 made it around the track, with 13 horses being pulled up by jockeys during the race.

Ireland Train The First Four Home

The race was dominated by Ireland, despite favourite Total Recall being a disappointment. The first four home were all trained in Ireland, with winning trainer Gordon Elliott also training Bless The Wings, who finished third.

Pleasant Company, second in the race, was trained by Willie Mullins, the only one of his three runners to finish the race while Tony Martin trained the fourth home, Anibale Fly.

Tiger Roll Adds To Cheltenham Festival Success

The 2018 Grand National was the first time that Tiger Roll shot to fame away from the Cheltenham Festival. He had already cemented himself as a Cheltenham legend, and by winning this Grand National, he turned into an Aintree legend too.

As a four-year-old he began his love affair with the Cheltenham Festival by landing the Triumph Hurdle over two miles in 2014. In 2017, he won a race almost the opposite of that, the four mile National Hunt Chase, showing that he was made for staying chase races.

Then in 2018, a month before this Grand National win, he won his third Cheltenham Festival race, all different races, by winning the Cross Country Chase.

Favourite Total Recall Disappoints

Favourite for the 2018 Grand National was Total Recall, a horse who won the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury at the end of 2017 and was running a very strong race in the 2018 Cheltenham Gold Cup before falling.

It was the promise of that run, up against some of the best horses in training, that moved him into Grand National favouritism. However, he never looked comfortable jumping the bigger fences, making mistakes and eventually being pulled up with two fences to go.

Moments Of Note

  • The going at Aintree for this race was heavy, making the test even tougher for horses involved, resulting in 13 horses being pulled up by their jockey
  • Due to non runners on the day, only 38 ran in the race this year and this was the smallest field for the race since 1999
  • Ireland trained the first four home in the race, with winning trainer Gordon Elliott training the first and third horses