THE Grand National once again provided a great spectacle, and this year’s running was one of the most compelling I’ve witnessed, partly due to the undoubted quality of the contest, of which more later, but particularly for a couple of exceptional rides.

Robbie Dunne deserves tremendous credit for picking Vics Canvas off the floor after a dreadful error at first Becher’s, and the very fact that the veteran chaser went on to look a possible winner between the last two fences was a great story in itself, but the real plaudits must go to David Mullins, whose handling of Rule The World was faultless. He’s come in for plenty of praise, naturally, but much of it has been suffixed by the phrase “for a 19-year-old” or “for a rider with so little big-race experience”. Neither phrase is necessary as a qualification.