Bob Champion Bob Champion Robert Champion MBE (born 4 June 1948) is an English former jump jockey who won the 1981 Grand National on Aldaniti. His triumph, while recovering from cancer, was made into a film "Champions", with John Hurt portraying Champion. The film is based on Champion's book "Champion's Story", which he wrote with close friend and racing journalist and broadcaster Jonathan Powell. Champion was born in Sussex, but very soon after his birth the family moved to Guisborough in the North Riding of Yorkshire. At the height of his career as a jockey, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in
1984 Grand National 1984 Grand National The 1984 Grand National (known as the Seagram Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 138th official renewal of the world-famous Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 31 March 1984. For the first time, the field was limited to a maximum of 40 runners. A sell-out crowd at Aintree saw 23 contenders complete the course, breaking the record for most finishers and one which still stands today. Hallo Dandy won the race, ridden by Welsh jockey Neale Doughty. The pairing had finished fourth in the previous year's National. By