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
David Mullins (jockey) Grand National at only his first attempt, giving a patient ride to Rule The World, a horse which had never previously won a steeplechase. He became one of the youngest jockeys ever to win the race and declared: →"It's a weird feeling, you don't really believe it" →"I beat Faugheen on Nichols Canyon but I think this tops that". The only younger jockey to claim the Grand National was the 17-year-old Bruce Hobbs back in 1938. David Mullins (jockey) David James Mullins (born 6 June 1996) is a National Hunt jockey. He is the son of Tom Mullins and grandson