Norman Mason is the name of the trainer at the side of 2001 Grand National winner Red Marauder, however, the story of that horse, and the victory, goes a lot deeper than that. Red Marauder was trained daily by Richard Guest, the man who rode him to victory, with Mason being the license holder at the yard.
The pair worked together with the runners they had, but it was undoubtedly Guest who had pretty much all the training input into the racing career of Red Marauder.
Now retired from racing, Mason eventually allowed Richard Guest to train from his yard after he retired officially, so the winners kept on coming from the North East stable that was home to Red Marauder.
Norman B Mason Grand National Wins
- 2001 - Red Marauder ridden by Richard Guest
Full Results
| Year | Horse | Result | Prize Money | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Red Ark | Fence 1 - Unseated Rider | - | Kenny Johnson |
| 2001 | Red Marauder | 1 | £310,000 | Richard Guest |
| 2000 | Red Marauder | Fence 6 - Fell | - | Richard Guest |
First Grand National Winner In 2001
The Red Marauder Grand National will probably be more remembered for various incidents around the race than the actual race itself. First of all, it rarely happened. In the early part of 2001, the foot and mouth outbreak put a halt to anything remotely related to the farming industry, and racing was one of those to be affected. The 2001 Cheltenham Festival was cancelled, but after strict measures were implemented around cleanliness and disease spreading, the Grand National was allowed to take place.
When it got to the day of the race, bad rain meant that the ground was exceptionally tough for the runners taking part. Of the 40 that started the race, just four managed to complete the course, but of those, two had to be remounted.
Red Marauder relished the conditions and, alongside Smarty, was one of just two runners to get around the Liverpool venue cleanly. As Smarty began to tire, two fences from home, there was only going to be one winner if he stood up. Richard Guest took Red Marauder to the lead, and from there, it was a procession. The official winning distance of the race was recorded as ‘a distance’ with 30 lengths used by some, showing just how easy this was for the horse.
At 11, this would be the last time he would run in the Grand National, and he would only run once afterwards, with an injury keeping him off the track for over 600 days.
Officially the record books will show that Norman Mason owned and trained the winner Red Marauder, though those that are in the know about the wider picture and the true story will know that Richard Guest was the man to do all the training. Mason held the license, and for that reason, his name will always go down as being the winner in the record books.
Red Marauder ran twice in the Grand National, falling the year before his victory, and the only other runner that Mason had in the race was Red Ark, who ran a year after the win in 2002. He unseated his rider at the first fence, and after that, the association Mason had with the race saw no further runners.
Famous Horses Trained By Norman Mason
Here are some of the bigger names trained by Norman Mason during his career.
Red Marauder