1981 Grand National In second place was the 8/1 favourite, Spartan Missile, ridden by 54-year-old amateur jockey and grandfather John Thorne. The story of Bob Champion and Aldaniti was made into a film "Champions", with John Hurt portraying Champion. The film is based on Champion's book "Champion's Story", which he co-wrote with close friend and racing journalist and broadcaster Jonathan Powell. 1981 Grand National The 1981 Grand National was the 135th renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 4 April 1981. It is remembered for the winning horse Aldaniti, who had recovered from
Paddy Brennan (jockey) UK stable in 2000. In the 2004/05 season he became champion conditional jockey. In the 2007/08 season he rode more than a century of winners in a season for the first time. On 19 March 2010 he won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Imperial Commander. In the 2015 Grand National he rode Saint Are. He came second behind Many Clouds. On 16 November 2016 he rode his 1,000th winner on Colin's Sister at Warwick. Paddy Brennan (jockey) Paddy Brennan (born 13 April 1981) is an Irish jockey who won the 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup on Imperial Commander. He rode his