Balnaslow and Derek O'Connor© Photo Healy Racing
There was to be no fairytale win in the Randox Health Foxhunters' Chase for the unplaced Guy Disney on Gallery Exhibition as Balnaslow went one better than last year to provide Derek O'Connor with his first win over the National fences.
A fast-finishing second 12 months ago, this time O'Connor had him closer to the pace and the Graham McKeever-trained 11-year-old appeared on the scene on jumping the second-last, before digging in and pulling two and a half lengths clear of Bear's Affair
But Disney, the first amputee jockey to ride over the National fences, was just delighted to have completed the famous course.
The former army captain, who lost part of a leg in a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Afghanistan in 2009, said after his spin over the famous birch: "It's the sort of thing you'd do every day until you die if you could, it's very special.
"Riding with Jamie Codd, just in front of you, and Derek O'Connor and Nina Carberry alongside, popping away. It's amazing.
"He's the most gorgeous horse, but it was really soft ground and he found it really hard work."
O'Connor said: "He's a fabulous horse, a brilliant jumper and tries his heart out. I couldn't have asked for the race to go any better. Personally, it's a massive thrill. Riding winners round the country is lovely, but there is something about the challenge, the trials and the tribulations of the Aintree fences. To achieve that is very fulfilling.
"The sad part of it is that Mrs Hagan [who owned Balnaslow; the horse is now owned by her executors] died last year. What a wonderful woman she was. Whatever I did on his back or Graham did on the ground, we definitely had help from elsewhere. This is tough for her family, who only buried their mother a few months ago.
"The race worked perfectly well for me. I had a great run around the inside and he jumped brilliantly through the race. In the latter stages of the race there were a couple of bad jumpers down the inside so I made the decision to switch out, and I got a perfectly clear run over the last four fences and came home very strong.
"Balnaslow has been exceptionally well-trained by Graham McKeever. It's a tight unit and a small yard where he gets all the attention he needs and Graham has done a wonderful job on him."
McKeever said of his 11-2 winner: "He has had a few problems. He had a chip in his knee and to get back to this stage is quite unbelievable.
"He doesn't go on soft or heavy ground, his best form is on good ground. Cheltenham was very testing for him. I went there thinking he was going to pull up. He did well to finish seventh there.
"He doesn't jump that last fence at Cheltenham. For some reason, something puts him off and he jumps it slow. We will see if he goes back to Punchestown, but hopefully he will. We will have to see how comes out of this."
