1985 Grand National 1985 Grand National The 1985 Grand National (known as the Seagram Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 139th renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 30 March 1985. The race was won by eleven-year-old, 50/1 outsider, Last Suspect, ridden by Hywel Davies in a time of 9 minutes 42.7 seconds for a prize of £54,314. The winner was owned by Anne, Duchess of Westminster and trained by Captain Tim Forster in Letcombe Bassett, Oxfordshire. Aintree chose this year to honour all of the surviving winning jockeys in National history.
Ernie Johnson (jockey) sighted in one eye and had to race along the inside rails, eventually getting herself boxed in. In 1982 he had what would be his final ride in the Epsom Derby, finishing last of the 18 runners on the rank outsider Florida Son. By the mid-1980s, riding opportunities were becoming scarce, so he relocated to Ireland for a short while in 1984, to ride for Eddie O'Grady. When this failed to work out, he returned to England for a season, riding just 11 winners in 1985. This was followed by some time spent riding in Singapore. He also rode winners