Murphy savours special moment
Murphy, winning in the colours of his boss David Johnson for second-season trainer David Pipe, can now take his name off the list of great jockeys who have never won the National.
The Kildare jockey was coolness personified on the nine-year-old and admitted that like many riders, it was the one race he wanted to win more than any other.
“It was an unbelievable feeling, just to complete the National you have done well, never mind finish in front of 39 other horses,” said Murphy, who has suffered plenty of adversity in his personal life and served half of a six-month jail sentence in 2002 following an incident on a flight back from Japan.
“David Johnson has had a lot of bad luck in the race previously, as well as a couple of placed horses, but you need a lot of luck round there.
“There were a lot of horses going well, but that tends to happen more than it did in the past, it’s good for racing to see plenty of runners with chances.
“I had a pretty good run. My main worry was the first fence as he can jump big, but he has been much better with the blinkers on. He did come up a bit at the first but he settled down after that.
“There were a couple of loose horses there from time to time but apart from that I had a clear run all the way,” he said.
“Anyone who starts off as a jockey will tell you that the Grand National is the race they want to win.”
For Johnson, it was also the realisation of a long-held ambition as an owner, but he admitted that losing a couple of horses in the race had tempered his enthusiasm somewhat.
“I’m a very lucky owner to have achieved most peoples life ambition, the Grand National is the race everybody wants to win but only a few can ever do it and I’m very lucky to have done it,” he said.
“He had a leg and was off for nearly two years, we were very patient and let nature take its course. There is no quick fix, you have to take your time and David Pipe and the Pond House team have done that.
“He’s run very well this year for us, he has come second and won two big races and I’m still elated.
“I’ve had some sad times but that is National Hunt racing, sometimes you make a spur of the moment decision which on reflection you shouldn’t have made but more horses get injured at shome than they ever do on the racecourse.
“I’m obviously sorry for the connections of the one horse who didn’t get home on Saturday (McKelvey), but by and large Aintree put on a great display and the fences are much kinder to the horses.”
Timmy Murphy (Comply Or Die, 1st): “It’s everybody’s dream to win the National. David (Pipe) has prepared Comply Or Die fabulously and said going out he was a certainty and wouldn’t get beat, so what more can you ask for?”
Paul Carberry (King Johns Castle, 2nd): “I was a bit short at the second-last but he winged the last and I thought I was going to pick Timmy (Murphy) up at the Elbow. But he pulled out a bit more. The whole way up the straight I thought I was going to get there.”
David Casey (Snowy Morning, 3rd): “He ran great, he jumped super and I just wish I had held on to him a bit longer, but he gave me a super ride. When Hedgehunter won I’d schooled him round for Ruby (Walsh) the year before and the same might happen again.”
Barry Geraghty (Slim Pickings, 4th): “He ran a blinder, I had a great spin off him and I just said to the lads it is the best craic you’ll have all year. He’s only nine so hopefully he’ll be back next year.”
Denis O’Regan (Bewleys Berry, 5th): “A brilliant run. I got a great run and he jumped great. He probably didn’t get home, but he’s run to his mark.”
Jason Maguire (Cloudy Lane, 6th): “He gave me a great ride. He’s run really well and he’s jumped great. Turning in, I thought if I could tag on to the winning bunch that he would pick up, but the trip has taken a bit of the quickness out of him and he just kept going one pace to the line.”
Robbie Power (Nadover, 7th): “He was deadly. He gave me a serious spin. He’ll not be 150-1 next year.”
Paddy Flood (Baily Breeze, 8th): “Fantastic. He jumped well and travelled well to finish eighth.”
Davy Russell (Chelsea Harbour, 9th): “A savage spin. He jumped from fence to fence. He did jump a bit left, but he is a game. Perhaps I made a bit too much use of him.”
Aidan Coleman (Mon Mome, 10th): “He gave me an absolutely brilliant spin. He was going well but Tony McCoy’s horse fell in front of us at Becher’s second time and half fell in front of my horse and that took him out of the race.”
Tom Doyle (Hi Cloy, 11th): “He jumped round, I thought I had a chance jumping Becher’s second time round but he just didn’t get home from the second-last.”
Nick Scholfield (Cornish Sett, 12th): “He gave me a serious spin. He was starting to get into it, but was flat out and for me to finish was just like winning it.”
Ruby Walsh (Hedgehunter, 13th): “He was grand. He jumped round, but he just wasn’t good enough.”
Brian Harding (Idle Talk, 14th): “He gave me a great ride. I was getting excited at Becher’s second time, but he just fell in a heap.”
Tom Malone (Milan Deux Mille, 15th and last): “I had a fantastic ride out there in front. He’s such an exuberant horse, but I knew if I dropped him in he’d be too keen. In the end I wasn’t competitive, but I got round and he’s a fantastic old horse.”
Andrew McNamara (Black Apalachi, fell 2nd): “I didn’t think he was going to fall, but I was on the way when he was on the way down.”
Wilson Renwick (Backbeat, fell 2nd): “The way he jumped the first I didn’t think he’d get very far.”
Tom Ryan (Tumbling Dice, unseated rider 3rd): “He just took off way too early.”
Christian Williams (Iron Man, unseated 3rd): “I only got as far as the third. He just took off too far out.”
David England (Ardaghey, fell 4th): “He got in a bit tight at the fourth and came down.”
Paddy Brennan (Fundamentalist, fell 4th): “He got in far too close.”
Shay Barry (No Full, fell 6th): “He got in a bit tight and clipped the top of it.”
Daryl Jacob (Philson Run, fell 8th): “A horse fell right in front of him and we could not get out of the way.”
Tom Scudamore (Madison Du Berlais, fell 8th): “He just got in too close at the Canal Turn.”
Keith Mercer (Contraband, fell 11th): “I just got squeezed up and was half pushed to the ground. He was a bit unlucky, he was still travelling well but it was still a long way out.”
Barry Keniry (Kelami, fell 11th): “I was getting a great ride when he just touched the top of the fence down the side first time round.”
Tony Dobbin (Point Barrow, pulled up 17th): “He wasn’t enjoying it as he seemed to remember his fall at the first last year. He was very careful at his fences and I had to pull him up after a circuit.”
Paul Moloney (Vodka Bleu, pulled up 19th): “I pulled him up. He jumped too deliberately.”
Andrew Tinkler (Naunton Brook, pulled up 19th): “He didn’t really want to go today. He likes leading and he couldn’t get his own way.”
Noel Fehily (Bob Hall, pulled up 19th): “He jumped well but he just got tired. We pulled up going out into the country second time.”
Johnny Farrelly (Joacci, fell 20th): “He clipped the top of the fence and came down.”
Tom O’Brien (McKelvey, unseated rider 20th): “He unseated me down the back the second time.”
Tony McCoy (Butler’s Cabin, fell 22nd): “I was having a good ride. He was travelling nicely and just tipped up at Becher’s the second time.”
Richard Johnson (Turko, fell 25th): “He was running a very good race though he dragged his hind legs through a couple. For a six-year-old he took to it well and could come back here again.”
Dominic Elsworth (Simon, unseated rider, 25th): “He went at the same fence last year, but he was only going OK this time. He did travel well for over a circuit though.
Joe Tizzard (Knowhere, fell 25th): “We got halfway round the second circuit when we came down.”
Richard McGrath (Dun Doire, pulled up 29th): “He got a bit tired, so I pulled him up but he had jumped really well.”
Sam Thomas (Mr Pointment, pulled up 30th): “I pulled up before the last. He just got very tired, but he jumped serious.”
