On April 7, 2001, Red Marauder won arguably the most attritional renewal in the history of the Grand National. With the going at Aintree turned heavy, verging on unraceable, after torrential rain, 40 horses went to post, but just two completed the course without mishap. A further two were eventually remounted to complete the course in their own time, such that there were officially four finishers, separated by a distance, a distance and a distance. The winning time, 11 minutes and 0.1 seconds, was the slowest since Zoedone beat the smallest Grand National field in history, in 11 minutes and 39.0 seconds, back in 1883.
A total of 33 horses departed the race on the first circuit, including eight at once at the Canal Turn, as the result of a pile-up caused by the riderless Paddy’s Return. Of the seven that remained heading out into the country for the second time, Blowing Wind unseated rider at the first open ditch, where Papillon and Brave Highlander refused and Unsinkable Boxer was pulled up. Carl Llewellyn, the jockey on the leader, Beau, had been struggling with both reins on one side since a blunder at the first fence on the second circuit and was duly unseated at the next fence.
Thus, the two remaining horses, Red Marauder, trained by Norman Mason and ridden by Richard Guest, and Smarty, trained by Mark Pitman and ridden by Timmy Murphy, had the race to themselves over the final 10 fences. Red Marauder led until four from home, where he blundered, but regained the lead two out and ploughed through what journalist Alastair Down described as a “muddy morass” much better than his exhausted rival, who was virtually pulled up on the run-in.
Aware of the situation, Tony McCoy and Ruby Walsh remounted Blowing Wind and Papillon to finish a distant third and fourth, respectively. McCoy said later, “You know there’s 55 grand for the owner who comes third. I’d kind of be failing in my job if I didn’t try and get that money for them.”
Reflecting on his victory on the 33/1 chance, Guest said, “”I’ve never run in worse conditions. I was in two minds whether we should be out there. He [Red Marauder] nearly went down five times.”