Liam Treadwell won the John Smith Grand National Steeple Chase during day three of the John Smiths Grand National Meeting at Aintree in Liverpool on the 4th April 2009, riding Mon Mome. It was a definite tale of triumph as he steered Mon Mome, which means ‘My kid’, to victory at odds of 100 to 1, the biggest priced winner in the 7,200 metre race. The race was watched by the 70,130 strong Aintree crowd, but few of them had backed Mon Mome, a nine year old who finished 10th in 2008.

Liam had spent seven years trying to make a breakthrough as a jockey, first on the flats and then over jumps. Treadwell, 23, who himself admits that he had ‘never even had a sniff of a ride round the big fences before’, rode round like Aintree like a true professional.

Treadwell’s father has been a work-rider and stablehand at John Dunlop’s Arundel yard for 20 years, while his mother still works there part-time. Treadwell began his career by riding point-to-pointers for Nick Gifford but at 8 stone was too light so became an apprentice on the Flat for Amanda Perett and Dandy Nicholls. He became too heavy, and says that he always knew in the long-term that he was going to end up jumping. It was a call out of the blue from Gifford asking him to ride his horses in 2008 that revitalised his career.

Where winning the National will take Treadwell is yet to be seen, but one thing is certain, Treadwell is not just a flash in the pan as he won the United House Gold Cup at Ascot at the end of October on The Last Derby, at odds of 33-1. The five year old was trainer Eoin Griffin’s second runner, but Treadwell won the race by five lengths, proving too strong for Aimigayle and Shining Gale.

Despite tremendous success in the 2009 Grand National, can he really do it again in 2010? Winning this prestigious race is often a one off moment of glory for so many jockeys and those that have won it twice or more are rare to say the least but interesting ly enough, he will probably have a wider choice of picks this year, capitalising on his winning form, which means that he could be in for a very good ride so don’t write him off just yet…

Though I don’t know who Treadwell is riding you can still put a few quid on the ante post horses at Paddy Power.

Tony ‘A.P’ McCoy of Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland is officially the best jump jockey of all time, a status he achieved on 27th of August 2002 when victory on Mighty Montefalco in a three mile hurdle at Uttoxeter gave him his 1,700th winner, passing the three year old record total of Richard Dunwoody. This achievement at the age of 28 means that A.P. McCoy has set a standard that is unlikely to ever be surpassed.

His first victory was with ‘Legal Steps’, at Thurles in March 1992, and this initial success in Ireland led to him racing in England. Since getting his British licence, and winning his first race in Exeter in 1994, he has broken many records, including a record 74 winners in 2004. The following season he was a champion jockey, which he managed to replicate in the following 12 seasons, during which time he also became the fastest jockey to reach the 1000 winner mark.

In 2004 he made the momentous decision to transfer to Jackdaws Castle, the state-of-the-art yard of trainer Jonjo O Neill and his landlord J.P. McManus, for whom he has continued to add to their list of victories. A.P has won the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase and King George VI Chase McCoy and has very few ambitions to achieve – except to ride 300 winners in a season and to win the Grand National.

The National has eluded him, but it is not something that he will give up on, having once famously said: ‘I suppose some people may regard me as a failure unless I win a National – I might even do so myself’, to which Carl Llewllyn, a twice National winner added ‘And then he’ll consider himself a failure if he doesn’t win two Nationals’. A.P. McCoy is indeed a hard self-taskmaster, so pre-race favourite Butlers Cabin, who he rode in the 2009 National achieving only 7th place will not have been in any way good enough for his own standards. One thing is for sure, A.P. McCoy will win the National – no man has ever been as determined.

Based on the last few years, the most likely scenario is that McCoy will ride a JP McManus horse for Jonjo O’Neill but we’ll have to wait to find out which one, but if you fancy an ante-post bet go to Paddy Power!

Born 14th May 1979, Rupert ‘Ruby’ Walsh of County Kildare, Ireland is recognised as one of the best National Hunt jockeys in the world. The son of Irish trainer Ted Walsh and named after his grandfather (another successful trainer), Ruby’s first walk around the Grand National course was when he was just nine years old, prior to the 1989 victory of Little Polveir.

He returned 11 years later, aged 20, to make his Grand National debut and won it by one and a half lengths on American-owned Papillon, a horse trained by his father. This win was against all odds, as in September 1999, he broke his collarbone and the following month, his leg whilst riding in the Czech Republic. In January, he reopened his leg fracture in another fall, and was only just fit for the Cheltenham Festival in March. Yet the following month he won the Grand National during his debut in the race. He reinforced his growing reputation by winning the Irish Grand National on Commanche Court just fifteen days later, and rounded up the season by winning the Punchestown Heineken Gold Cup.

In his next four National rides, he twice finished in fourth place and scored a second, 14 length victory on Hedgehunter, the 7-1 favourite of 2005. This triumphant win established Walsh as the first jockey to have won the Welsh, Irish and Aintree Nationals in the same season.

Walsh has ridden over 1400 winners and in 2007, won the inaugural British Horseracing Board Jockeys’ Order of Merit award. He has been the leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009, and this year rode a record-breaking seven winners over the four days of the festival. He has won the Irish jump jockeys’ title on six occasions to date – 1998/99, 2000/01, 2004/05, 2005/06, 2006/07 and 2007/08.

He is truly recognised as force to reckoned with, and so famous is he that one of Ireland’s greatest musicians Christy Moore has written a song ‘The Ballad of Ruby Walsh’ in his honour!

Though I don’t know which horse Ruby will choose for the 2010 Grand National, ante post bets are now being taken at Paddy Power!