The phrase that perhaps best sums up Red Rum’s achievements in The Grand National at Aintree is that “his record of five appearances in the race with three victories and two seconds will never be equalled let alone surpassed”. Red Rum is now quite rightly part of Horse Racing, and indeed, Sporting

Rummy along with his equally unique Trainer and Owner have simply become part of the Aintree wall paper with the horse being buried beside the winning post following his death in October 1995. Trainer Donald ‘Ginger’ McCain epitomised the horses tough grit and character announcing “I think it’s bloody marvellous” as he was asked for a reaction when interviewed by the BBC’s Frank Bough after Red Rum had triumphed for the third time in 1977.

Whilst octogenarian owner Noel La Mare had waited a lifetime to finally fulfill, in 1973, the last of his three ambitions of marrying a beautiful women, becoming a millionaire and winning the Grand National. It remains a wonderful story of how this legendary team got together with the trainer and his owner first meeting when McCain was driving the elderly gentleman home when working as a part time Taxi driver in Southport.

Red Rum remarkably ran in over one hundred races from 1967 at the age of two on the Flat.  His career progressed via hurdling through to Chases and then right up to his exploits at Aintree and an intended final tilt at The 1978 Grand National aged thirteen.  He sadly didn’t quite make that final engagement due to lameness but had stayed reasonably sound throughout his long career. 

His forced, but well deserved, retirement was finally announced by Donald McCain on Friday, 31 March 1978.  His hardiness and work ethic was always best highlighted by Ginger McCain who would develop the horses’ character by sighting that he was a “thorough professional” who “you could never get to the bottom of” and that “he would always come back at you”.

Red Rum won 27 races in total and amassed over £100,000 in prize money (a record for a jump horse at the time).  He had many Jockeys during his time but Tommy Stack who rode him as a five, six and seven year old and again in his later years including his final two Nationals remains his most successful partner.  Many however will, quite rightly, think of Brian Fletcher as his regular jockey given the terrific partnership they formed to win the 1973 and 1974 Grand Nationals.  Particularly Rummy’s first victory in the race when beating the great Australian Crisp in what is still considered by many the greatest ever National.