Grand National the run-in and, two strides from the finishing post, he pipped the tiring Crisp to win by three-quarters of a length in what is arguably the most memorable Grand National of all time. Red Rum finished in 9 minutes 1.9 seconds, taking 18.3 seconds off the previous record for the National which had been set in 1935 by Reynoldstown. His record was to stand for the next seventeen years. Two years before the 1981 Grand National, jockey Bob Champion had been diagnosed with testicular cancer and given only months to live by doctors. But by 1981 he had recovered and
Hywel Davies (jockey) Hywel Davies (jockey) Hywel Davies is a retired Welsh professional National Hunt jockey. He rode for 16 years with 761 wins in the UK and he ended his riding career in 1994. Davies is a Welsh speaker and didn't speak English until he was 7 years of age. He attended Cardigan Comprehensive School from 1969 until 1975. Davies was the retained jockey for Tim Forster for 8 years at his Letcombe Bassett stables near Lambourn in Berkshire. He became a freelance jockey and rode for several other trainers like Josh Gifford and Nicky Henderson. He won the 1985 Grand National