WE didn’t get much of a run for our money in the Randox Health Grand National at Aintree – sorry about that – with Definitly Red broadsided at first Becher’s and the enigmatic Tenor Nivernais never a factor. But in other respects it was an edifying spectacle, which has not always been the case over the years.

Forty set off, and only 19 completed, but the majority of the others pulled-up and there were no serious injuries to human or horse yet plenty of thrills along the way. It had a deserving winner, as well, in One For Arthur, who came from a long way back to storm to victory by four and a half lengths from Cause Of Causes.

The Grand National is not an easy race to analyse from an overall time perspective on account of its being the only race on the course on the day and one of only a few on it through the year. But obstacle-to-obstacle sectionals are easy to take, including well into the past, and they paint an interesting picture of this year’s race and winner.

The pace was stronger than par on the first circuit, at which point it will have been an advantage to lie some way back, as all the first four were to some degree. But it slowed markedly going onto the final circuit, so much so that the entire field were behind par by the time cecond Becher’s was reached.

With that in mind, One For Arthur’s finishing effort was remarkable, for some of those he ran down were not stopping. The move he made on the long run to the second last, in which he gained about a dozen lengths on the leader Blaklion, was the fastest I could find by a winner in any Grand National, including Mr Frisk’s record-breaking 1990 effort on lightning quick ground.

Some reports suggested that One For Arthur himself had broken the track record, but they are false, as the current shortened distance has been in place since 2012 but was only re-measured before last year’s soft-ground renewal. Many Clouds ran several seconds faster when winning in 2015.

Nonetheless, One For Arthur can be given a time rating of 155 commensurate with the figure he seemed to run to in form terms and those sectionals suggest there could be plenty more to come. He looked a natural here and is only eight years old with the likelihood of return visits.

Cause For Causes gets a timefigure of 154, Saint Are one of 148 and Blaklion one of 153.

The last-named had a figure of 158 from his second in the Grand National Trial at Haydock and shaped well here, the marathon distance seeming just beyond him under an aggressive ride.