Gordon Elliot’s Tiger Roll pipped Willie Mullins’ Pleasant Company in a photo finish to win the 2018 Grand National on a great day for Irish horseracing.
Davy Russell rode a horse that owner Michael O’Leary once referred to as ‘a little rat of a thing’ to victory as Russell claimed his first career win at the Grand National.
Elliott’s Bless The Wings hung on to finish third while A.J. Martin’s Anibale Fly finished in fourth to make claim the first four places for Irish horses.
Meanwhile Neil King’s Milansbar and Noel Meade’s Road To Riches placed thereafter to extend the Irish dominance to the first six horses to finish.
Russell said he had visualised the race a thousand times in his head before Saturday’s Grand National but none of his visualisations mirrored what transpired in the actual race.
“I did have a big fear,” Russell told the BBC. “That would have been heart breaking. I was thinking of my mum and my kids.
“I’ve won this race thousands of times in my head and I’ve never won it like I’ve done today.”
