Bob Champion’s Aintree fairytale

Thirty four years have elapsed since Bob Champion partnered Aldaniti to one of the most celebrated wins in the illustrious history of the Grand National. But now the legendary fundraiser hopes that a certain AP McCoy can guide Shutthefrontdoor to victory this afternoon and produce “the best fairytale for the race since when we won!”

To Bob Champion, a kid sitting in the darkness of his local cinema, the Pathe news coverage of the Grand National would light up his life.

“I’d be about eight or nine but every time I saw it, I’d see it as the race of fairytales,” he recalls wistfully. “I still do.”