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
2011 Grand National falls on the first circuit, reigniting debates over the safety of the event. Irish horse Ballabriggs won the race, securing the first-place prize money of £535,135 and a first Grand National win for trainer Donald McCain, Jr., the son of four-time winning trainer Ginger McCain. Owned by Trevor Hemmings, Ballabriggs was ridden by Irish jockey Jason Maguire and was sent off at odds of 14/1. The pairing completed the race in 9 minutes 1.2 seconds, the second-fastest time in Grand National history. On 2 February 2011 Aintree released the names of 102 horses submitted to enter, including 34 Irish-trained and