All-the-way Rogue Angel holds on in Grand National thriller
Fox, from Ardcath, less than 15 minutes from the track, set out to make all aboard the bold-jumping Rogue Angel and the two gave a great sight out in front. In contrast, Walsh, riding for Gordon Elliott, sat patiently out the back and bided his time aboard the recent Cross Country Chase third.
As the race unfolded the leader maintained his rhythm and advantage, but in the pack Walsh could be spotted sitting motionless as his mount stealthily picked off his rivals, one by one.
Turning for home Rogue Angel remained in front but Ballyadam Approach mounted the first challenge. In behind, however, Bless The Wings still travelled strongly and as they approached the final fence was upsides the long-time leader.
The challenger may have put his nose in front on landing after the last but, as at Listowel, Fox and Rogue Angel refused to give in.
In a pulsating finish at the end of more than three and a half miles, the two battled all the way to the line but it was Rogue Angel, wearing the colours of Gigginstown House Stud, who put his nose down at the right moment to secure the narrowest of victories, with the game Ballyadam Approach in third and the winner’s stable companion, Folsom Blue, in fourth.
“I wasn’t sure I was up until I went by the line and Ruby gave me a bit of a thump,” said a delighted Fox. “I couldn’t believe it. This means the world to me. Rides are just getting a bit slim, it’s hard to get them at the moment because there are so many up-and-coming jockeys out there.
“It has been a bit of a struggle, so something like this should be a great help to me.”
It was a most emotional victory for the winning trainer, whose son Christopher died of carbon monoxide poisoning whilst on holidays in Argentina last summer.
Morris, who rode Billycan to win the race in 1977 and trained Hear The Echo to land the feature in 2008, is man of few words, but the popular trainer rubbed his chin, pointed his finger and admitted earnestly, as he struggled to hold back his emotions: “This is special, this year. This one’s for Christopher.”
Of the race, he added: “I gave Ger no instructions whatsoever. He rode him in the Kerry National, so knows him well. I’ve always thought he might be an Irish National horse as he stays forever – he was second in the four-mile chase at Cheltenham.”
The winner completed a 288-1 double for Morris after fellow 16-1 chance Just Cause, also sporting the maroon and white of Gigginstown, had taken the handicap hurdle under Jack Kennedy.
Asked whether the Aintree National might be on the agenda for Rogue Angel, Gigginstown House Stud manager Eddie O’Leary quipped: “We’ve won this and we won the Gold Cup, so we won’t be greedy.”
There was a sour note for the riders of the first and second, as each received a day’s suspension for their use of the whip, having been deemed not to have given their mounts time to respond.
The crowd of 15,804 was a couple of hundred down on 2015, while bookmaker turnover was also down, from €890,418 to €825,747.
