Source:  Aintree.co.uk/News Release

The John Smith's Aintree Legends Charity Race 
DOBBIN BACK IN WINNING ACTION AT THE RACECOURSE HE LOVES BEST

Fourteen years ago, Tony Dobbin won the ‘bomb scare’ Grand National on a Monday aboard Lord Gyllene and the former jockey was back in the winner’s enclosure today after partnering Fortuni to victory in the John Smith’s Aintree Legends Charity Race.
 
Dobbin said: “That was lovely. This place is very special to me. I’ve ridden five winners over the National fences, including the National. 
 
“It’s a very special place. Coming in this morning the hair on the beck of my neck was standing up.” 
 
Fortuni, trained by Dobbin’s wife Rose, may be back in racecourse action before the week is out, according to his temporary jockey, who said: “We had him in at Kelso during the week but we pulled him out because the ground was too soft. He may run at Sedgefield on Thursday now. I’ll probably get a bollocking from my wife for giving him too many slaps.”
 
Dobbin added that it was harder to get fit for the race that he had thought it would be, saying: “There’s a gym in the village hall and I’ve spent more time in there than I have in the pub recently. I’ll put that right tonight.”

IT ALL COMES BACK FOR HYWEL AND CARL

Amid rousing cheers from an appreciative crowd the John Smith's Aintree Legends Charity Race proved a great way to start the big day.
 
The one mile and five furlong Flat race, involving retired jockeys who had won the John Smith's Grand National, went to Fortuni (Tony Dobbin) followed by South O'The Border (Carl Llewellyn) and Fair Gale (Hywel Davies).
 
Davies, who won the 1985 running on Last Suspect, looked fit and sharp as he drove his Philip Hobbs-trained mount to the line. He rides out regularly near Lambourn, and said: "It was absolutely fantastic. After clearing my pipes out I'm ready to go again! I want a proper ride now.
 
"Phil [Hobbs] is a great friend and was a good jockey himself. He doesn't know much about the horse I rode because he hasn't had him long. He said to me 'Will he come on for that?' and I said 'Yes, he'll win a race on good ground over hurdles'.
 
"Riding in front of that crowd was brilliant - it brought it all back. It's not always good to do these things because it creates hunger pangs."
 
Carl Llewellyn, said after finishing second: "He gave me a lovely ride and it was nice to be out there and not be scared for once! I was worried about the winner because he scored on the Flat at Epsom and was rated 90, but I had a great spin."
 
The 11 runners were led to the start by a pair of hunters ridden by two more Aintree heroes, Bob Champion, who won the John Smith's Grand National on Aldaniti in 1981, and former champion jockey Jonjo O'Neill, who was out of luck as a jockey in the race, but trained last year's winner, Don't Push It.

CHARLIE FENWICK ROLLS BACK THE YEARS

It might have been 31 years since he won the John Smith’s Grand National on Ben Nevis, but Charlie Fenwick, only the second American jockey to win the race, looked anything but two years off his pension as he rode Sky Calling into ninth place in the John Smith’s Aintree Legends Charity Race.
 
Fenwick, who has also won five Maryland Hunt Cups and 10 American Grand Nationals, said: “That was simply unbelievable - such an incredible experience and it brought back so many memories.
 
“I thought I was as fit as any 63-year-old could be, but maybe I needed to be fitter.
 
“I can’t thank the owners enough for allowing me to ride and Martin Keighley has also been a tremendous help, but, while I began to get a bit excited turning into the straight, I got tired before Sky Calling did.”

Ben de Haan, who rode Shinnecock Bay to finish fourth, said: “I thoroughly enjoyed that, but it is certainly further from the last hurdle to the winning post than I recall it was from the last fence when we won on Corbiere in 1983.”
 
Former champion jockey Graham Thorner, victorious on Well to Do in the 1972 renewal of the John Smith’s Grand National, was also bubbling with enthusiasm as he dismounted from tenth-placed Erin Dancer.
 
He said: “That gave me a huge buzz, and, while I would not agree with Mick Fitzgerald that it’s better than sex, it certainly runs it a close second. I was flat out all the way, but I’d gladly go out and do it again when I get my breath back.”