Bearnaí army gets wild for Grand National winner

It was sore heads all round in the small village of Kilskyre, Co Meath, as the place celebrated its unlikely Irish Grand National triumph.

Jockey Andrew Thornton rode Líon na Bearnaí, at 33/1, in a famous victory for trainer Tom Gibney, who has just five horses in his small stable in Kilskyre.

Speaking to RTÉ yesterday, Tom said he was “very confident” his horse could stay on and win the race at the last fence but said it has been a struggle to keep going with such a small crop of horses.

“It’s unbelievable. I mean we’ve been struggling since the day I took out a licence to get horses in. To survive on five horses is the hard part, and for it to turn around like this is just amazing.”

Líon na Bearnaí was the first horse bought by the trainer.

Owned by the Lock Syndicate in the village, Tom said celebrations were held into the small hours in the village pub Teach Fada.

“The lads [from the syndicate] organised all that. I just went along. It was packed. It was a fantastic atmosphere and just amazing to have a whole village rooting for you and it just gives everyone a lift down here.”

The trainer now hopes the success can help him expand his stable of horses. He said he always believed his oldest horse could take the famous race.

“The Grand National is a lottery so we were just praying that if we had a bit of luck in running and a clear round, I was very confident of his ability to be in the money.”