PETER SCUDAMORE: Corach Rambler has a special place in my heart

PETER SCUDAMORE: Corach Rambler has a special place in my heart – I have a bond with the Grand National winner, and I worry about him every day, regardless of what the protestors think

• There is always risk involved with horses, of course, but we love these animals 
• I have a bond with Grand National winner Corach Rambler, but I worry about him
• The build-up to the big day was not smooth, but he did the business at Aintree 

When people ask me what I think about the actions of the protesters who tried to disrupt the Grand National, I’m reminded of what happened to a horse called Brindisi Breeze.

He was the first Cheltenham Festival winner for my partner Lucinda Russell and we were dreaming of what races he might contest.

But in a paddock for his summer holidays, he escaped by jumping a fence, got on to a road and was killed in a collision with a lorry. Life is fragile, life is unpredictable and it is never devoid of risk. Death is an uncomfortable fact for all us.

What I can control is trying to eliminate suffering and that is the ethos I bring to training horses such as Corach Rambler.

Plenty of advances in veterinary medicine, which benefit other equine sports and the horse population in general, have been made because of developments in the welfare of horses.

I have a special bond with Grand National winner Corach Rambler – and worry about him daily

Brindisi Breeze jumped over a fence during a summer in the paddock and was killed by a lorry

My feelings for Corach Rambler are already on record. He has a special place in my heart and I am content that the test he was set at Aintree in the Grand National was fair.

He will soon go out for his summer holiday. Hopefully he will enjoy the sunshine on his back in his paddock, but I will still worry about him every day.

By contrast, Saturday’s race was unbelievably smooth. Corach and his rider Derek Fox seemed to be in their own bubble.

They got a bit of luck when a loose horse jumped across them at the Canal Turn but Corach handled that moment.

Corach Rambler definitely has a heap of talent and so does his jockey. Derek isn’t a big name in racing like Sir Anthony McCoy or Ruby Walsh but he has an empathy with his mounts that I think matches anyone’s. He operates as one with his horses.

We knew Corach was theoretically well handicapped going into the race, after his win at the Cheltenham Festival, but it is one thing running a race in theory, quite another turning it into a reality.

Derek and I expected Corach to be further back in the early stages, but Derek adjusted the plan when the horse was travelling so well in the early stages.

The only firm idea we had discussed was getting him over the first six fences and into a rhythm. We just wanted him to rub one fence so he knew they were not as stiff as they look. You could see him jump big and then suddenly get it. He is a very intelligent horse.

The build-up to the big race was not smooth – Corach Rambler was briefly lame one morning

The build-up had been far from smooth. There was Derek’s shoulder injury and then Corach pulled off a shoe and was briefly lame one morning.

Coincidentally, it was the day we had our pre-Aintree press morning, but luckily nobody noticed!

When we got to the second-last fence on Saturday and Corach was going so well, I honestly didn’t care if he won or lost, all I wanted him to do was come home safe and sound. But we gave him his chance of racing greatness and his name now goes down in the annals of Grand National and racing history.

Lucinda and I have won two Grand Nationals — and Corach Rambler and our 2017 winner One For Arthur are very different. I believe our success is down to the type of horses we buy. Your success on the racecourse begins in the sales ring.

When One For Arthur won the National in 2017, it was a very different story to this year’s race

We can’t afford the very expensive horses, but we can buy the less expensive horses whose strength is their stamina, which means we have established a good record in long-distance races. Our horses tend to be very tough. When we bought Corach Rambler for only £17,000, our expectations weren’t high. Win a few small races in the north, that was our original thought.

He has turned out to be a dream horse for his seven owners.

There is a bruise on my arm where he bit me recently. I am thinking of having it turned into a tattoo now!

Peter Scudamore was talking to Marcus Townend

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