RANDOX GRAND NATIONAL FESTIVAL NEWS: DAVID MAXWELL OUT TO BECOME FIRST OWNER-RIDER TO LAND WORLD’S GREATEST CHASE IN OVER 140 YEARS
ATTACHED: Image of David Maxwell. Please credit Grossick Photography if using.
Friday 12th April
By Catherine Austen
David Maxwell could become the first owner-rider to win the Randox Grand National since 1883 when Zoedone took the race for Count Charles Kinsky if Ain’t That A Shame wins the world’s greatest chase at Aintree tomorrow (Saturday 13th April).
The 45-year-old amateur jockey purchased the Henry de Bromhead-trained 10-year-old Ain’t That A Shame from previous owners Robcour a few weeks’ ago. It will be Maxwell’s first ride in the Grand National, although he has ridden in the Randox Foxhunters’ Chase (which is staged over the Grand National fences) on several occasions, finishing second behind Latenightpass in 2022.
Maxwell, a London-based property investor, said: “It’s very exciting. The bit I can’t quite get my head round is, in the Foxhunters’ you go round once, and every time you jump one of the big ones, the key fences, you’re like, ‘Thank God I’m over Becher’s!’ Whereas with the National, you think, ‘I’ve got to jump Becher’s again and I’m going to be knackered next time!’
“But it’s very exciting. It’s totally unknown territory for me, but the horse has jumped round before, he jumped round well last year. I said to Rachael [Blackmore, who rode Ain’t That A Shame to finish 17th in 2023], my single biggest fear is basically being run away with in front of 100 million people down to the first fence.
“I said, ‘Rachael, it’s keeping me awake at night!’
“She said, ‘Don’t worry, David, honestly, he’s not fast enough to run away with you, you’re going to be fine!’
“I went over to Henry’s about three weeks’ ago and had a sit on him. He’s a very civilised boy, he’s in great form. He’s actually quite a young 10, he hasn’t got too many miles on the clock, he loves the sport. He’s in very good form.”
He continued: “The Grand National is all about the horses - it’s all about the story of the horses. By the time they get to the age when they can run round the National, we know them, we’ve seen their characters, we know what they’re like. And they’re wonderful things, and he’s a wonderful horse. He’s a lovely character, he’s competitive and he loves life.”
Although Maxwell grew up in a racing family - his father Jeremy trained 1988 Grand National winner Rhyme ‘N’ Reason from their family yard in Northern Ireland as a young horse before selling him - Maxwell didn’t take up race-riding in a meaningful way until his late 20s.
Asked what inspired him to aim at the world’s most famous steeplechase, he replied: “It is certainly not for financial gain! It is not for betting and it is not for self-promotion - it is solely because I’m a little kid who loves his pony. They are just wonderful animals, and being able to race them is a fantastic thing, a fantastic privilege.”
Asked whether riding in the Randox Grand National has a been a dream for a long time, Maxwell continued: “Not at all, no. I wouldn’t have let myself think that this could happen, even after I bought this horse and he was 17th in the handicap, so pretty much guaranteed a run. I thought, something is going to go wrong. But we’re edging closer.
“It’s very rare that a horse comes up for sale that has a bit of a squeak in the race, and he does. The ground’s gone the right way for him. It does happen, but it’s rare. And I’m excited about running him in hunter chases in a couple of years’ time as well.”
Maxwell’s wife and children will be at Aintree to watch him ride in the Grand National.
Does he get nervous before a race?
“Not so much anymore. I used to get horrendously nervous, but now I don’t think about it so much. I probably don’t have any more bones left to break!”
Ain’t That A Shame was last out when winning the valuable Goffs Thyestes Handicap Chase at Gowran Park, Ireland, at the end of January. The three miles and a furlong contest is a recognised Grand National Trial. Future Grand National winners Hedgehunter and Numbersixvalverde both won the contest this century before going on to Aintree success.
