It really was a grand National
Post categories: Horse Racing
| 16:28 UK time, Monday, 16 April 2007
Let me start by saying how pleased I am with the response we鈥檝e had to of Saturday鈥檚 Grand National. The weather was brilliant and it was matched by one of the closest and most in years. Here are the thoughts of a couple of you who were kind enough to write in:
鈥淛ust to say your coverage of the Grand National 2007 was superb. Top marks to you all for putting on a great programme.鈥 - Paul Coote, UK
鈥淕reat show Clare and Sue, especially that Ginger McCain interview - colourful or what! Anyway, keep up the brill presenting!鈥 鈥 Kevin, UK
The to the big race meant we had to rattle though our post-race interviews and the re-run slightly quicker than I鈥檇 have liked, but all-in-all I was very pleased with how the day went. Sadly there was no way we could extend the coverage as we had to be off-air at 5.10pm because of the live which followed us!
I think those problems at the start also really added to the drama. You鈥檝e got 40 jockeys and 40 horses all keyed-up and ready to go, so it鈥檚 not the easiest of things to get all of them in a row. Afterwards admitted that the jockeys can be stubborn. They don鈥檛 like to give-up a good starting position by having to turn around and line-up again. The race may be four-and-a-half miles long but you can鈥檛 underestimate how much emphasis the riders put on getting to that first fence ahead of the rest!
The audience we had was 7.6m viewers despite the fact the weather was so good. We also had a 66.5% audience share, meaning that two in three people who were watching television were watching our coverage. I think the figures were helped by the race being at 4.15pm. We moved it to that time two years ago as the day of the race coincided with Prince Charles鈥 to the Duchess of Cornwall. Personally I鈥檇 as I think even more people would watch.
I thought Clare Balding and Sue Barker did a great job in taking viewers through the whole day. Clare鈥檚 excellence as a racing presenter is undeniable and Sue really added a sense of occasion, as she does in all the big events she covers. I鈥檇 also like to mention Brian Gleeson - who handled the pre and post-race interviews in the absence of Rishi Persad, who鈥檚 currently covering the . I think Brian did a fine job and his rapport with the jockeys and trainers was clear to see.
I鈥檇 also like to mention the four-man commentary team, who were led by Jim McGrath for the 10th time. He was joined by Ian Bartlett, Tony O鈥橦ehir and Darren Owen and the quartet called a really excellent race, and I really think they conveyed the excitement of the day.
We鈥檝e also had a lot of emails asking us about the People鈥檚 Race, such as this one:
鈥淚 heard no mention about next year鈥檚 People鈥檚 Race, and how to enter. Can you supply any details?鈥 鈥 Chris Moulton, England
Well, it鈥檚 not been decided whether there will be another race next year but for more details you can visit the .
I do think the People鈥檚 Race provided us with something different. It certainly added drama and impetus to the whole afternoon. For those of you who aren鈥檛 aware, hot favourite Instructor unseated his rider Michael Sweeney at the start, and the nine furlong flat race was eventually won by Kevin Old from Bournemouth on Hoo La Baloo.
Finally, given that the weather has been so hot, I feel Clerk of the Course Andrew Tulloch did a remarkable job in preparing Aintree. Some horses prefer extremes of ground 鈥 either firm or soft 鈥 and I thought he produced a course that was fair to all the runners. Of course Graphic Approach was injured and second-placed McKelvey damaged a tendon, but thankfully all the other horses were okay in what is the most testing race of all.
