1. Why couldn’t One For Arthur eventually come into the winners’ enclosure?

The scenes on course immediately after One For Arthur and Derek Fox passed the line were joyous. It’s great to see. Out of the four horses jumping the last, One For Arthur was perhaps the most likeable story. A first winner for Scotland. For Lucinda Russell. For Derek Fox. For the Golf Widows. They each had their own story and it is genuinely lovely to see the delight of connections after the race. It’s a vital ingredient to the appeal of the Grand National.

Safety is paramount of course and we understand why One For Arthur went into the special ‘cooling down’ tent just after the finishing line but why couldn’t he then be brought into the winners’ enclosure to get the applause and recognition he deserves? And connections could have him for that special moment. Something important has been lost here and is it really necessary? It was a hot day but surely after receiving 10 minutes cooling, he’d have been fit to walk into the enclosure in the same way every horse has done since the race was first run (without cooling). Once again we seem to be lessening our product/experience at the behest of the people who watch racing one day a year.

2. Overall, the race is in a good place

While we started on a negative point, the race as a whole was one of the best in years. A wide open affair on paper, it had all the usual thrills and spills. The winner was a popular one, not only because of connections but because he was well backed. He was also ridden beautifully and if you were a once-a-year punter and had your once-a-year bet on One For Arthur, you’d have got a massive thrill. Fox had the nine-year-old way out the back on the first circuit before gradually making ground after the Canal Turn. He put him into the race on the turn-in and from there he looked all over the winner, even after jumping into the back of Blaklion at the second last.

All 40 horses and 40 jockeys went out, and all came back in. That is five years since a fatality in the Grand National. The modifications to the fences, though still not pleasing the purists, are proving to be a wise move.

Some people were critical of the start again and while it wasn’t a smooth operation, a total of 40-revved up horses and jockeys about to contest a race worth £1 million is never going to be. When they did get away, no horse looked to be overly hard done by.

3. The Hard Luck Stories

And there was a few. Definitly Red at Bechers. He was impeded by the fall of The Young Master in front of him, and Danny Cook did brilliantly to stay upright. But the tack slipped and that was his race gone. He was 10lbs well in on official ratings so will probably never have a better opportunity.

Thunder And Roses was going well over Valentines Brook on the first circuit when he ran into a loose horse and unseated Mark Enright.

Ucello Conti had a dream run through on the rail and was tracking eventual third Saint Are when he made a mistake at Bechers the second time, giving Daryl Jacob little chance.

Pleasant Company was travelling well when he went right down on Ruby Walsh at second time they took Valentines. It was an amazing sit by Walsh but there was a fair amount of damage done and while it probably didn’t stop the pair winning, they could have got a lot closer.

4. Updating the trends

Did you read the third, fourth and fifth points in Donn McClean’s ‘5 things we learned’ column in The Irish Field or here on Saturday? You wouldn’t have been put off backing One For Arthur.

Eight of the previous 11 winners had raced between 10 and 14 times over fences giving a 73% chance the winner would come from this group of 17: The Last Samuri, Saphir Du Rheu, Roi Des Francs, Wounded Warrior, Blaklion, Drop Out Joe, Le Mercurey, The Young Master, Regal Encore, Ucello Conti, Double Shuffle, One For Arthur, O’Faolains Boy, Vicente, Stellar Notion, Cocktails At Dawn and La Vaticane. Make that a 75% chance for next year when you narrow down the group.

The eight-year-old stat is interesting. Donn pointed out that since the modifications were made to the National fences you couldn’t rule out eight-year-olds anymore. One For Arthur is an eight-year-old, so is Blaklion and so is Vieux Lion Rouge. Three of the first six home. Finally, the weights; Blaklion was the only horse inside the first 11 home that carried over 11st. Perhaps The Last Samuri is the best example of this as having run a cracker to finish second in the race last year off a weight of 10st 8lb, he really struggled to make a mark this time around off top weight 11st 10lb, trailing in 16th of the 19 finishers. One For Arthur might well have been what The Last Samuri was last season - the progressive, well-weighted, in-form chaser, and maybe that’s the blueprint for the race going forward.

5. Where to now?

With all the horses that are laid out for the National all year, it does sometimes seem to be an inevitable disaster waiting to happen, given the luck that you need to get a clear round in the race. But all is not lost. The end-of-season programme for staying handicap chasers is good and there are other options if you never get to race in earnest at Aintree.

Vicente went at the first which was a pity for his connections but all being well he can go back to Ayr now to try and win another Scottish Grand National. The Young Master went at Bechers Brook on the first circuit and he could go to Sandown for the Bet365 Gold Cup, a race he won last year off his current rating. Thunder And Roses hadn’t got very far (Valentines Brook on the first circuit) when he ran into a loose horse and unseated Mark Enright. If he is okay he could go back to try and win another Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse on Monday. All being well Raz De Maree could do the same, where he might get a more suitable surface. The season isn’t over just yet.