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
2000 Grand National 2000 Grand National The 2000 Grand National (known as the Martell Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 153rd official renewal of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase that took place at Aintree Racecourse in England on 8 April 2000. The race was won in a time of 9 minutes 9.7 seconds and by a distance of 1¼ lengths by 10/1 shot Papillon, ridden by jockey Ruby Walsh. The winner was trained by his father Ted Walsh and ran in American Betty Moran's colours of green with ice blue piping. The field was limited to a maximum of 40 competitors of