1981 Grand National 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 chronic leg problems, and his jockey Bob Champion, who had recovered from cancer. Aldaniti's injuries dated back to 1976, while Champion had been diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1979. However, Aldaniti was nursed back to optimum form ahead of the race, and Champion overcame lengthy hospitalisation and chemotherapy to win the National by a distance of four lengths.
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