I’VE written about the outcome of the Grand National elsewhere, but the aftermath of the race will always provoke much more discussion than the result itself and I wanted to expand on some thoughts encompassing the race itself, the effect of changes made to the race in recent times and the reaction to the race from different quarters.

The first thing that hit me after the contest was that while Willie Mullins can dominate the Grade 1 events in the National Hunt calendar and respond to his spectacular success with an air of detached grace, it took victory for son Patrick at Aintree to cause him to dissolve so untypically into tears, and that demonstrates the continuing hold of the race over its participants.

Of course, Willie’s response would have been slightly different if the finishing order had been shuffled and the pride of being the father of the winning jockey was a huge part of the reaction, but so was the fact that this was the race won by Lottery, Abd-El-Kader and The Lamb in a different era.

Patrick spoke afterwards of reading about those Aintree legends and for those like the Mullins clan steeped in racing history, the fact that the Grand National is a specific recollection of the entire story of steeplechasing is what makes it special. There have been many changes since 1839, but Aintree’s familiar face remains a constant and ensures that the history of steeplechasing abides with those who hold it dear.

I’ve watched the race back quite a number of times in the past week and my overwhelming reaction remains that Patrick Mullins rode the race of his life at Aintree, keeping Nick Rockett in a position where he was uncompromised by the pace or other horses, saving ground without taking unnecessary risks and when several riders decided to kick for home with three fences to jump, Patrick was content to sit on a horse who was clearly full of running. He would have preferred if those in the front rank had given him a lead for longer, but he did the right thing in waiting until after the last fence before asking for maximum effort on a horse who was liable to idle in front.

If you want to be hyper-critical, you could point out that he used his whip once above the permitted level from the last, thereby incurring a ban, but it’s hard to watch the finish and conclude that he was in any way whip-happy, with the sheer length of the run-in making it harder to stay within strict guidelines than elsewhere, even without the looming presence of Paul “Nemesis” Townend on your outside. They say nobody remembers who came second, but to hear Patrick quote both Richard Pitman and the late Lord Oaksey in regard to the closing stages shows that those who do remember the runners-up will often learn from them.

In pointing out that the number of fallers over the National fences this year – as last – has been very small, the race will still come under the spotlight after the death of veteran Celebre d’Allen, who moved through to lead three from home seemingly going easily but was beaten before the next and was pulled up exhausted after the last. He collapsed when being led in by members of the veterinary team and while initially responding well to treatment, sadly died on Sunday night.

A post-mortem concluded that Celebre d’Allen succumbed to a severe respiratory infection leading to sepsis rather than as a direct result of his post-race episode, but the subtext of that finding is that his exertions on Saturday left his immune system severely compromised and made him vulnerable to infection. That in turn raises questions about the gruelling nature of the race, which is in no way lessened by the fact that the fences are easier to negotiate.

It was notable how many horses appeared to travel very comfortably until the turn for home on the second circuit only to tire badly, with classy stayers Beauport and Bravemansgame tailed off having chased Celebre d’Allen on landing over the third last. Nick Rockett himself couldn’t be ridden back in despite coming in for a measured and sympathetic ride and it’s hard to gauge how attritional the race might have been for others.

It’s fairly clear that if you hike up the relative class of the race while making the fences more negotiable, the race will become more competitive for longer and more questions will be asked of the physical endurance of the competitors than merely their ability to jump around the course.

Making changes to the fences, the length of the run to the first fence, the landings and the field size are largely positive moves, but every change has its own consequences, and while the risk of physical injury related to falls has decreased, the pressure on heart and lungs is arguably increased, so there are likely to be questions posed about the effect of such a test of endurance, and it’s important that any conclusions aren’t of the knee-jerk variety.

While the stewards were correct to hand a ten-day ban to Micheal Nolan for failing to pull up Celebre d’Allen before the last, it’s not hard to feel some sympathy for the rider who seemed to be caught in two minds before making what proved to be the wrong call and then received a barrage of abuse on social media for that fateful decision. There’s little doubt that Nolan would have felt terrible about what happened, and he doesn’t need a mob to remind him. In the modern Grand National, there is a particular onus on the jockeys to look after tired horses and on the whole, the riders last Saturday deserve great credit for riding sensibly, and it’s regrettable that the one borderline judgment call proved to have fatal consequences.

It’s easy to point to the age of Celebre d’Allen and suggest that horses older than 12 be banned from competing in the future, but the true answer is likely to be more nuanced, and I’m sure Aintree and the BHA will make conclusions based on robust research.