THERE is no race that captures the imagination quite like the Aintree Grand National. It is a game-changer for winning connections, as a recent interview I had with Tommy Stack revealed.

In spite of twice being champion National Hunt jockey in England, it is still his Grand National victory on Red Rum that ranks as a career highlight. Okay, I can hear you say that his win was something special, being the third in the race for the greatest chaser around Liverpool, but I can also attest to the impact of the win from a personal perspective, my brother Brendan landing the spoils 29 years ago.

It is a cliché to say that the race seems to throw up a great story every year, but that is simply the case. Name any year, any winner, and Joe or Josephine Public will tell you something about the race. If I mention Brendan and Rhyme ‘N’ Reason, people will recall his spread-eagling at Becher’s Brook on the first circuit and his amazing recovery to land the coveted prize.

A recent trip to Downpatrick for the Ulster National coincided with a visit to the track by Phyllis McDowell. The 95-year-old presented a trophy in honour of Caughoo who won the race back in 1945 and 1946. The gelding was trained by her late husband Herbert and raced in the colours of her brother-in-law Jack McDowell.

Caughoo is well remembered for his victory at Aintree 70 years ago, for a number of reasons. It would not happen today, health and safety among other factors, but 57 horses lined up for the race in 1947, a few less than the 66 who ran in 1929 when Gregalach beat Easter Hero – and only 10 finished! The 1947 staging also coincided with the race being run on a Saturday for the first time, while the winner is one of five who were victorious over the years at odds of 100/1.

Reports at the time suggested that Herbert and John, together with their mother and sister, debated about whether to try to win the Ulster National for a third time, or send their only racehorse at the time to Aintree. History relates that their 50gns purchase justified the trip to Liverpool.

Conditions for the race were simply atrocious. A thick fog, and a muddy track thanks to heavy rain, meant that for much of the race visibility was negligible. Caughoo emerged from the mist to win with Eddie Dempsey in the saddle, beating the diminutive Irish-trained Lough Conn, with Kami in third place and Prince Regent fourth. Kami was ridden by the amateur John Hislop, later a celebrated author and the owner and breeder of Brigadier Gerard.

While the crowd in attendance did not match the estimated 400,000 that was said to have watched the 1946 race, and remember that this was a time of petrol rationing, they heard rather than saw Caughoo pass the post 20 lengths clear. Winning jockey Dempsey was having his first ride in England but after the race he was assailed by a racegoer who alleged that Caughoo had failed to jump 20 of the 30 fences.

The incident resulted in a court case which Dempsey won, his integrity being fully vindicated. Indeed, commentators who were spread out far and wide on the course attested to the fact that Caughoo was seen clearly to jump the race’s feature fences on both circuits.

Twenty years after Caughoo won at 100/1, along comes another at the same price. Foinavon’s win is probably one of the most oft shown races, involving as it did a pile-up at the 23rd fence – ironically, the smallest on the course. A truculent Foinavon, formerly trained by Tom Dreaper, was hunting along behind everything else when the catastrophe happened, but somehow he managed to not only avoid the melee, but to jump that fence and the remainder safely and win.

John Buckingham, subsequently a jockey’s valet and who died at the end of 2016, was the fortunate pilot on the day and this win was by some way his greatest success.

A decade further on and in 1977 Tommy Stack came to be reunited with the horse whose name is the first on anyone’s lips when it comes to the Grand National. Red Rum contested the race on five occasions and won three, finishing runner-up in the other two. What an achievement and one unlikely to be ever repeated. It is also fair to say that he ran at a time when the fences were far stiffer than today.

Thankfully, for historical reasons, Tommy Stack has recalled the achievement of Red Rum for us and you can hear his interview with me online by going to www.theirishfield.ie

Twenty years ago the Grand National was run on a Monday – but not by design. Among scenes that hopefully will never be repeated, racegoers had to leave the course following a bomb scare. While spoiling the occasion for everyone present, it was to be a disappointing way for the great and much-missed Sir Peter O’Sullevan to call his 50th and last Aintree marathon.

Victory went to Lord Gyllene, a New Zealand-bred gelding trained by Stan Clarke by Steve Brookshaw and ridden by Tony Dobbin. The crowd that witnessed the win on the Monday was some 20,000 and this was just a third of the number in attendance two days earlier. On the Monday everyone was admitted free of charge, but the mayhem caused by the evacuation was immense.

Great credit must go to Aintree’s managing director at the time, Charles Barnett, for the smooth manner in which this unlikely and unfortunate event was handled. It was no minor incident and such was the story behind it that the following year Nigel Payne, a man with an impeccable and intriguing Grand National pedigree, and Dominic Hart combined to write a book about it. Payne himself had a Grand National victory with Earth Summit.

As we face the starter for the 170th Grand National, it is fascinating to look back to just 10 years ago when the relatively unknown Gordon Elliot saddled Silver Birch to win at odds of 33/1. Owned by Brian Walsh and ridden by this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup winning jockey Robbie Power, the gelding was a Paul Nicholls-castoff. His victory came before Elliott had even trained a winner on the racecourse in Ireland. Now he is leading the race for the trainers’ championship

The Melbourne Cup is the race that stops a nation, while the winning post for the Epsom Derby is considered the most valuable piece of wood in sport. However, it is the Aintree Grand National that captures the imagination of racing and non-racing fans like no other and its global appeal sets it apart from all other races.

What story will the 2017 race bring? At about 5.30pm today it will begin to unfold.