JUST as Rule The World was paraded in Mullingar and Fethard, this is my lap of honour on behalf of our stable star and Grand National Festival winner, Maggio.

The road to the National suffered a slight detour when we were a reserve and had to take up our engagement in the race that preceded the Grand National but what a diversion it proved to be.

A 12-length demolition of 13 other rivals in a listed chase in front of a sold out crowd live on mainstream TV with a global audience of 10 million viewers, kick-started the best few days that I have had in racing so far.

When Maggio won the Stirling Cup in Perth last July I was quoted that the April 9th in Aintree was the main intention and that is where he has been aimed all season.

Douglas Pryde and Jim Beaumont both have family and business ties with Liverpool and it’s the only three days of the year that matter in their eyes and that is where they want runners.

Dad never had a National runner in his heyday but you have to tell yourself it’s just another race and train your horses as you would for any other so Dad and I made a conscious decision in the autumn not to over race him as he’s best fresh and a prep run one month before and a trip to the Curragh would suffice.

As I said earlier, we knew from the final confirmation stage last week that we would be a reserve and therefore miss out in the big one so the logical alternative was the three mile, one furlong listed chase on the same day instead.

As Aidan O’Brien would say following seasonal debuts, Maggio had come forward from Kelso! His homework had been good but his last two bits of work had been very good and as he always works on his own, I’m guided more by how he behaves as the better he feels, the more quirky and alert he becomes.

He can be quite sharp in the stable, especially with his teeth and he was getting harder and harder to put rugs on to or to saddle as it’s difficult to do buckles when you’re dodging an open mouth. They’re more love bites than Jaws attacks really!

I knew I had him right for the day and as I said last week, I just didn’t want the ground to deteriorate too much from good to soft as he’s best on decent ground and you need boxes ticked in your favour in these big races.

Maggio and Dare To Endeavour travelled well to Aintree on the Wednesday and both settled in quickly. He exercised on Thursday with Eric McNamara’s horse and on Friday and Saturday he also went out as a companion with Rule The World and First Lieutenant.

The rain held off over the first two days and I thought we were sorted but Andrew Tulloch got it spot on in his prediction for Friday night and it was raining when we went out for dinner that evening and was still coming down on our way home.

We decided during the meal that maybe we should wait to see does it stop raining but alas the longer we waited the more it fell so Thomas Dreaper, Dermot McLoughlin and Jamie Dwyer celebrated with a drink while I danced the opposite to a rain dance!

As it was still dark and raining it was a unanimous decision not to walk the track upon our return to the digs but both Thomas and Dermot were beginning to smile with the thoughts of soft ground the following day (later the same day if truth be told).

Douglas and Jim understood my concerns about the rain softened going when they arrived on Saturday but my job was done and it was down to Brian Hughes now with also a bit of praying.

As I was plaiting Maggio during the first race, Dad rang me to say Brian had a fall and it looked a rough one. Once I was finished I checked he was okay but he had been stood down following a bit of a kicking so James Reveley was swiftly drafted in to cover for Brian. James had won three times on him before and in fact, rode him when he won his novice chase so it was an old partnership just renewing their link.

The race was very easy to watch as James jumped off handily and settled Maggio into a rhythm off the strong pace and bided his time.

The horse’s jumping was nothing short of electric and it quickly became apparent that the ground wasn’t holding any fears by the way he travelled and jumped.

Over the first two miles, due to the tempo of the race, he watched on from the rear then down the back for the last time he began to creep and jump his way into contention.

Jumping four out he was still about sixth or seventh then swinging in and over the third last he moved into a handier position.

He winged three out and landed second where James took a pull, filled Maggio’s lungs and then let the horse take him into the race, soaring over the second last suddenly the impossible began to look possible and the jockey still hadn’t moved.

Only one fence left and there is Maggio on his own in front. Ears pricked. James steadies. He pops the last and then it’s real.

GIANT EMOTION

It’s hard to explain but the rush of adrenaline, relief, excitement and disbelief is a wave of one giant emotion. Seeing Maggio cross the line in front by almost a distance under a hand and heels drive in a race like that was a dream come true.

He’s always promised to deliver on a big a day and he duly did. Maggio deserved that win. He’s been our stalwart for a few seasons and has brought me to meetings I grew up watching. It is due to him that we have attracted the owners that we have in Killeen and are able to punch above our weight and also this proves we can deliver.

People keep asking me why the licence is in Dad’s name and I have always answered it is because he deserves a big winner before it’s in mine. Dad retired because he had to and not because he wanted to.

To me he just slightly disappeared in the minds of a few when he didn’t renew his licence all those years ago so I always felt that he’s entitled to go out with a fanfare and he’s got his name on a festival roll of honour now and he really truly deserves it.

Mum and Dad support me in my training venture and success is the only way I can repay them. Ronan and my sister Elizabeth were there with their partners and that was special.

Our eldest brother Jonathan (I know, there’s another one!) had to cry off late on but hopefully there will be another day like last Saturday and perhaps we can all be there. That would be, using an adjective I said on the day, awesome!

The well wishes, texts, calls, tweets, emails and cards to me personally and to Mum and Dad have meant a huge amount to all of us so thank you very much. Apologies if you have texted Dad and not heard back, he can’t text!

I was able to get the early boat home and Maggio was in his stable shortly after midnight and I was up early Sunday to watch the replay before Adam Short was in to ride out and school.

Anthony Fox was then in on Monday riding out so both had to suffer the DVD more than once and listen to me try to describe the buzz that Saturday brought.

Colm Hand kept the show on the road riding out while I was away and Maggio was led up by Shonagh Hunter who goes racing when ever we have a runner.

This game can test your character and push you to the limit physically at times but it’s results that count and it’s days like the weekend that make it seem worth it.

Maggio is now rated 151 in the UK so we are starting out on our journey again with all roads leading to Aintree, April 2017 and fingers crossed, I can be lucky enough to experience what I did last week again, satisfaction is quite a sweet feeling!