Comply or Die takes John Smith’s Grand National
Every ticket to the John Smiths’ Grand National race held at Aintree was sold out long before the race started. It is estimated that another six hundred million racing enthusiasts tuned in on their televisions to watch one of the most gripping horse racing events of the Aintree Grand National. Many punters were still battling to pick a winner amongst the worthy list of contenders, and those who did not choose Comply or Die were understandably disappointed, as he crossed the finish line four lengths in front of the second place runner.
Comply or Die found himself amongst formidable competitors, such as Slim Pickings, Cloudy Lane, King Johns Castle, Hedgehunter, Snowy Morning and Chelsea Harbour, at the start of the race. He is trained by David Pipe and Irish jockey, Timmy Murphy, safely guided Comply or Die over the fences and against the strong competition.
Not wanting to tire Comply or Die too soon in the race, Timmy Murphy kept his mount jumping fences at an even pace. Up until the last four fences, Comply or Die was jumping together with Chelsea Harbour, Slim Pickings and Bewleys Berry. But it was at the last jump that Murphy asked Comply or Die to dig deep into his reserves to steadily begin to outrun the competition on the home stretch. King Johns Castle put up a brave fight to the very end, but just could not catch Comply or Die once he had committed himself to using the last power and stamina that he had left to win the race. At the end, King Johns Castle had to be happy with a well deserved second place, with Snow Morning coming in third and fourth place going to Slim Pickings.
The victory of Comply or Die was especially sweet for trainer David Pipe, as his father, Martin Pipe, had also trained a Grand National winner during his time, and it was a moment of pride that was shared between father and son. David Johnson, Comply or Die’s owner, also could not contain his joy, and congratulated everyone involved in the training, riding and care of his horse, saying that the victory was a team effort. Most of the contenders will now start to look at next year, not being deterred by it not being their win this time round. No doubt that the John Smith’s Grand National 2009 will be just as gripping and unpredictable as this year’s horse racing event.
