LEGENDARY ex-jockey and commentator Richard Pitman knows a thing or two about the Grand National.
He first rode in the 1967 running won by Foinavon and has played a major part at Aintree ever since, whether in the commentary booth or in the saddle.
And why this year’s race has been lost, it hasn’t stopped Pitman from offering up an opinion or two.
The 77-year-old will front ITV’s primetime coverage of Saturday’s rescue Virtual Grand National with Nick Luck.
Advanced CGI technology will be used to predict what the experts think would have panned out and Pitman defies any punter to notice it’s not the real thing!
“I live for the Grand National and it’s a shame what’s happened, but these virtual races are so real, the detail is amazing,” he laughed.
Best known for his association with Crisp, Pitman was downed late on by Red Rum in the 1973 National, an iconic renewal of the world’s most famous steeplechase.
Ginger McCain’s Aintree hero would go on to record a fantastic three wins in the showpiece, a record Tiger Roll was looking to better with three CONSECUTIVE victories.
But Pitman isn’t sure Gordon Elliott’s star would quite be up to the task and would be picking Bristol De Mai as his National ride this time around.
He said: “He’d be a very exciting one to jump on as he goes from the front and has that bit of class too.
“He’s got to carry 11’8 and is the second top-weight but he jumps for fun, pricks his ears and doesn’t think about things too much.
“He’s always looking for the next fence and I expect he’ll go round the inside rail from the front under Daryl Jacob.”
Pitman admits the National has changed from the glory days of L’Escargot and Crisp, and was quick to point out there’s no way you can compare those legends with the likes of Tiger Roll.
He said: “The race has changed over the years so placing Tiger Roll in the list of National greats is difficult.
“It used to be a race for Gold Cup horses.
“Tiger Roll would never win a Gold Cup and probably never run in one. I think his handicap mark is ridiculously high.”
Pitman was at Aintree for the infamous IRA bomb scare, the controversial void race in 1993 and Aldaniti’s 1981 triumph.
But it was his second on Crisp in 1973 that he will always remember most vividly.
He said: “I can remember everything about that race in 1973. I’ll go to the grave with it.
“Bearing in mind that this horse had won the Champion Chase over two miles at the Cheltenham Festival, what me and Fred Winter tried was remarkable.
“Any normal person would say we’ll switch him off at the back and preserve his stamina.
“But we thought he’s so keen to jump, he was called the ‘Black Kangaroo’ in Australia, that that wouldn’t have worked.
“We thought we’d make the running and slow it down from the front. We’d have all the room in the world and we could dictate the pace.”
But as with most things in racing, a plan is a plan until things change. Crisp would be a remarkable 30 lengths plus clear with only a handful of fences to jump. The rest is history.
Pitman added: “When we went down to Becher’s Brook, I heard the commentator go ‘and Crisp is 33 lengths clear going strong, and Fletcher is coming out the pack but kicking Red Rum along.’
“As we approached the second last fence Crisp’s petrol ran out, his legs were going sideways and not forwards.
“He had half-cocked ears, even the strength had gone from then. Now you cannot get any more to the bottom of the barrel than that.
“I then made a schoolboy mistake by giving him a crack with my right hand when we needed to go right around the elbow.
“I think I lost two lengths there and in the end we only lost to Red Rum by half.”
You really have to see the finish to believe it. The race is still talked about by punters today as one of the greatest climaxes of all time.
Pitman said: “It was elation turned to desolation and then back to elation very quickly, because I had had a thrill of a lifetime and money couldn’t buy what I experienced, I’d had to earn it.
“People forget he was carrying a stone and a half more than Red Rum too.
“Two from home I thought he was still going to win as I had him held and he was still going for me at that point.
“It was like when you’re a kid running away from a monster in your nightmares, while stuck in treacle.”
