‘Both horse and rider came back from death’s door’ – The Paddock panel talk first Grand National memories

'That's one of the greatest sporting stories of all time, isn't it?'

The panel talk Aintree vs Cheltenham, their first memories of the Grand National as well as their tips and picks for this weekend's big race.

Rishi Persad, who grew up in Trinidad, shared his memories of horse racing from his childhood in the Caribbean, explaining that only three races were shown live at the time - the Derby, the King George at Ascot, and the Grand National. 

Rishi recalled: "I grew up originally on the flat with horses like Troy as the ones that I loved. 

"But then in the National, there was Corbiere, Greasepaint, Hello Dandy, West Tip, and they ran in the race regularly. So every year you'd be like, 'Oh, I remember that horse'".

"It was huge", Rishi said talking about the Grand National's popularity in Trinidad.

When pushed for a specific first Grand National winner that he remembered by the rest of the Paddock crew, Rishi brought up the 1981 winner Aldiniti for his incredible story.

"The one I remember vividly is Aldaniti," he said, to which Oli Bell chimed in saying "the story with Aldiniti was incredible".

Rishi added: "That's one of the greatest sporting stories of all time, isn't it?

"Bob Champion had cancer, came back to win. Aldaniti was basically broken down twice," Oli continued,  "both horse and rider came back from death's door."

An incredible memory and there's plenty more stories in the full episode to be enjoyed.

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