Brian Fletcher in the UK. Fletcher died on 11 January 2017 at the age of 69. Brian Fletcher Brian Fletcher (18 May 1947 – 11 January 2017) was an English jockey known for riding the horse Red Rum to win the Grand National in 1973 and 1974 and for second place in 1975. He first won the Grand National at the age of 20, in 1968 riding Red Alligator. Fletcher began his horse racing career aged 16 with trainer Denys Smith. In 1967, Fletcher rode Red Alligator in the 1967 Grand National, finishing third. The next year, Fletcher rode Red Alligator and
1976 Grand National years after the race, Red Rum's trainer, Ginger McCain, expressed that he felt jockey Tommy Stack had made a tactical error in waiting until the penultimate flight before attempting to race to the finish as is, McCain noted, the textbook way to ride a National. He instead felt that if Stack had allowed Red Rum to "kick on from the fifth last flight he would have stretched his rivals and outpaced them". McCain was also quick to point out how much easier it is to ride the Grand National in your head from the stands and praised his rider for