AFTER his Chepstow Welsh National triumph Earth Summit returned to the track in January, 1998. Our National dream was still alive, but he ran down the field at Haydock in the Peter Marsh Chase.

In late January, we held the weights’ lunch, and there seemed to be a big degree of confidence building. He was around the 25/1 mark, but with a listless fifth of 15 in the Greenalls Grand National Trial, the very race that crippled him in 1996, our confidence, if you could call it that, took a bit of a knock.

Things were still set fair for April 4th, and we were delighted to hear that The Princess Royal was to return again and present the trophy.

I had so many bets on Earth Summit that I can hardly remember, but I certainly backed him at 40/1 with Corals, 33/1 with Ladbrokes, 28/1 with Corals again and 18/1 with Hills.

Poor Tom Jenks, then his regular rider, had broken his leg at Sedgefield and was ruled out of the meeting, and so the more experienced, and Nigel Twiston-Davies’s number one, Carl Llewellyn stepped in for the ride. It rained all week, and the money literally poured on Earth Summit, and he went off 7/1 favourite, which was remarkable.

I had fixed up the Park Hotel for the syndicate members and their other halves and arranged all the necessary badges etc. I went to see them for supper and staying there was Heather Jenkins, and her partner. Heather was later to become my second wife.

On Friday night, Charles [Barnett] called and asked where the Summit Partnership would be based on Saturday at the races, and I replied. “Whatever vantage points they can find.” Charles then explained that the Hales box was free, with all food and drink paid for, and would we like it?

It would not affect me, but I grabbed it with both hands – the team had a great base overlooking the winning post – this should have been an omen! Having got the team firmly settled in the box, I went off to do my job and didn’t catch up with them for a few hours.

Diaries of a Racing Man

Clare Balding

It was still raining on the morning of the race. Clare Balding declared “it is real Earth Summit weather.” From an Aintree perspective, we were very nervous about a repeat of the 1997 shenanigans. As a consequence, I did not share the prerace preparations. There had apparently been a minor scare when Earth Summit doggedly refused to leave the saddling box because he did not want to step through a puddle. Still, when I finally reached the parade ring, the whole team were chatting with Nigel and Carl, and poor Tom Jenks on his crutches.

Earth Summit left the paddock, the team left for the box, and I went to the winners’ enclosure, which is where I always watched the race – rather than it being a show of absurd confidence! Des Lynam was standing there watching the race with me.

I had to be there because it’s my job to greet the winning connections and organise the television, radio and the various other post-race interviews that the connections would have to partake in immediately after they returned to the enclosure. You get so wrapped up in a race and – unbeknown to me – BBC television had a camera on me, which I’ve since seen and it’s very embarrassing to watch. But it just shows the raw excitement of it all!

As planned

The race went exactly as Carl had planned it, but never tell me there is no such thing as fate. Carl started out wide and towards the back, and at the first there were three fallers. Challenger Du Luc was next to us and Banjo one inside him. They both fell inwards! Had they fallen outwards a lot of people’s lives would have changed, including mine.

Earth Summit hacked the first circuit and gradually made his way towards the leaders. The run down alongside the Canal took its toll. As they crossed the Melling Road, only two contenders were left, the magnificent grey Suny Bay and Earth Summit who received a massive 23lbs. We won by 11 lengths to become one of the slowest ever winners, with only seven finishers from the 37 starters. We were the first-ever partnership to win the world’s greatest race.

For me, the post-race formalities were weird as I was in effect, organising myself. To be honest, it all flashed by and is a bit of a misty memory.

I rang Liz [Nigel’s wife], who apparently could not bear to watch and had gone shopping in Tesco. At the checkout, she asked who had won, only to be told they couldn’t remember but they thought Carl somebody or other had won with a Welsh sounding surname! In shock, she left her trolley and fled home to catch the re-run.

We went to the pub that night, the Hollow Bottom in Guiting Power, with the trophy, and I was still there on Tuesday when I remembered my car was still in Liverpool. I recovered in it one piece the next day.

Party time

Not long after the meeting, we organised a party in the garden of the Twiston-Davies’s. It was the end of May. We hired a huge marquee, Earth Summit came in and, during the afternoon, Sam and Willie Twiston-Davies, who were five and three, were pictured on his back. That lovely picture is currently in Cathy Twiston-Davies’ kitchen.

Bob [Sims] made a speech, primarily thanking me for running the partnership and finding the horse, of course! He read out my end of season letter to each member of the Summit Partnership. Bob is an excellent speaker and has a very dry sense of humour, and brought the house/marquee down when he said. “Nigel’s letter ended with a P.S. I enclose your cheque for £22,000.”

This was Bob’s one-sixth share of our prize money.

One real disappointment, and I say this with all due respect to Aussie Jim McGrath, was that Peter [O’Sullevan] retired in November 1997. His last National was that year. He did offer to do me a dub, but stupidly I never followed it through.

Earth Summit ran again in 1999, Bobbyjo’s year. That was the famous year when Paul Carberry swung from the rafters of the winners’ enclosure. Our lad finished eighth, which was pretty damned good because he hated the ground; it was much too quick for him.

The following year he was going to run again, but he got a bit of a leg, and there was no way we were going to risk him, so we retired him.

Hunting

As Marcella Bayliss had looked after him all the time he was at Nigel’s, we gave him to her as a present. She was thrilled. She had a small livery yard, just down the road from Nigel’s, and I used to go and see him there. He used to go hunting a lot.

I should mention that after the National I said each partner could have Earth Summit for a day to hunt. I took him to the Chalfont St Giles fete, and he was incredible. Horses are unbelievably intuitive animals because even though children were running around the back of him and petting his legs, he didn’t mind at all; he just stood there.

After many happy years with Marcella, the poor fellow got cancer of the spleen, which David Nicholson, who was training out of Jackdaws Castle, told me was very rare. I don’t know whether it is or it isn’t. Anyway, he started to waste away, so we decided that the best thing to do was to put him to sleep. He’s now buried where Marcella had her livery yard on the side of the hill overlooking Naunton.

Send-off

It was strange because I wanted him to get a perfect media send-off. He died just before the Cheltenham Festival, so I told Nigel Twiston-Davies to say nothing about him dying. I knew with Cheltenham on he wouldn’t get the coverage he absolutely deserved.

So, we held back the news – it didn’t make any difference to anybody else. I didn’t tell anybody else either, not even my own syndicate, until the Monday after Cheltenham. Earth Summit then received a double-page spread, which is what he deserved. Like many horses, he was completely adored by everybody, particularly Marcella, and all of us naturally.

He almost became part of the family. It’s truly amazing as there are only about 160 people who have ever won the National. And when you’re involved in the National like I was, it was just weird to be able to share the spoils of victory.

Nigel Payne MBE has written Diaries of a Racing Man and is donating ALL of the proceeds from the book’s sales to the Sir Peter O’Sullevan Chaitable Trust. He is not charging for the book, and instead is asking for a donation instead for the charity. Contact Nigel at The Old School, Bolventor, Launceston, Cornwall PL15 7TS or nigel@earthsummit.co.uk to get a copy and to make a donation.