Monty's Pass and his owner win big in Grand National
A memorable gamble was landed in Saturday's Martell Cognac Grand National at Aintree, as the Irish-trained Monty's Pass, a 16-1 chance, powered to a 12-length win in the world's most famous steeplechase.
The connections of the winner reportedly won more than a million pounds ($1.6 million) from betting on Monty's Pass, with Mike Futter, principal member of the group that owns the horse, Dee Racing Syndicate, having won more than 800,000 pounds ($1.25 million) himself.
Futter, speaking after the race said: "We have been telling people for weeks about Monty's Pass's chances, and I know many people who backed him at 33-1. However, I got better odds myself! It's been an unbelievable day."
Ridden by this season's hottest jockey, Barry Geraghty, the 10-year-old Monty's Pass gave his trainer, Jimmy Mangan, his first winner in the race on his first attempt. Always going well, Monty's Pass took up the running from eventual fourth-place finisher Gunner Welburn two fences out, and from that point always looked in command.
Monty's Pass quickened again on the run-in, and the result never looked in doubt.
Geraghty, who won his first Grand National, said: "He jumped brilliantly, he did everything himself; he was like a cat out there. It was a case of how far I'd win by from a long way out, and you just can't believe he can win that easily."
Supreme Glory, well behind with four to jump, stayed on strongly to take second. Third-place Amberleigh House was trained by Ginger McCain, former handler of the legendary Red Rum, who won the Grand National three times.
Fourteen of the 40 starters completed the 30-fence, 4 1/2-mile Grand National course.
In a race that was reputedly responsible for the biggest amount of betting turnover on a single event in Britain, fortunes were won and lost by bookmakers and bettors alike. Bookmakers had the benefit of seeing several fancied horses fail to show their form, including the favorite, Shotgun Willy, who was pulled up with eight fences to jump.