Champions (1984 film) Champions (1984 film) Champions is a 1984 film based on the true story of jockey Bob Champion. It is directed by John Irvin, produced by Peter Shaw, written by Evan Jones, and stars John Hurt, Edward Woodward and Jan Francis. The film is based on the true story of Bob Champion (portrayed by John Hurt), who was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1979. After treatment with an operation to remove the diseased testicle and chemotherapy, Champion recovered and went on to win the 1981 Grand National on Aldaniti. In 1984, John Irvin was nominated for a Golden Bear Award at
1991 Grand National Hawke said of his victory: "It just all happened so quickly with Seagram that I couldn't really appreciate it. You never catch up with yourself. I wouldn't mind trying it again. I just happened to be on the right horse on the right day, which doesn't happen very often when you're a jockey. I found that out later." 1991 Grand National The 1991 Grand National (known as the Seagram Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 145th renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 6 April 1991. It was the