Aldaniti: The Story of a Champion

Product Information

At the Elbow I felt a horse come to my quarters but didn’t look. You sense a horse is there. But I went and won two or three lengths. then he or she may make this known to Aldaniti Nonetheless, the receipt of said notification shall not represent knowledge for the purposes of liability as set out in Article 17 of the Spanish Law on Information Society Services and Electronic Commerce (LSSICE). The Grand National is a race that moves the public like no other, with many of the sport's best-known characters participants over the famous fences and the wide-open nature of the race appealing to seasoned punters and novice spectators alike.

But I didn't go into the race thinking 'this is going to lead to the Bob Champion Cancer Trust' or anything like that. I just wanted to go into the race and win it, because it had really been my ambition for all of my life. He returned to training and racing while still in treatment and set his sights on winning the 1980 Grand National.

Strong at the end

Niti” raced 28 times in total with eight wins and 10 places, including third in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and second in the Scottish National. The trust became Bob’s passion, and as always he insisted on doing things his way; working hard and then even harder.

Champion cites the 1973 National as the most outstanding renewal of the race, with the future three-time winner Red Rum claiming the first of his successes from the valiant Australian chaser Crisp, who was carrying a top-weight of 12st. I was written off. Everybody said I was finished. But Josh (Gifford, Aldiniti’s trainer) stood by me, and as you can see we came good on the right day.” Their legacy is a sense of hope for all those who follow in their paths. They taught us that, even when things look desperate, success is just over the next fence for those who choose to make the jump.The 1981 Grand National (officially known as The Sun Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 135th renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 4 April 1981.

Most people who have been diagnosed with cancer and told that they will most likely die within months would take some time away from work. Not Bob Champion. Thankfully it worked, but getting fit was the hard bit, because I’d lost all my muscle. Everything about me, I weighed down to about nine stone. They're two women that have done a fantastic job for racing, and it's great to see them doing so well. They deserve their success. I remember looking to one side and seeing Rubstic, who'd won a couple of years before, and on my other side was Sebastian V, who finished second the same year, so they were another two excuses.

The injury to Aldaniti was so serious that there was talk of putting the horse down and Champion toyed with giving up racing altogether. Niti returned to the Embiricos farm (in the care of Beryl and Wilf Millam) to recuperate from injuries, and later to retire. He died there aged 27, and is buried there. I sat on him once for the TV before he went to Liverpool and one morning in Liverpool, then the Grand Naitonal.”