Carl Llewellyn is one of very few jockeys to take the coveted title of Grand National winning jockey not once but twice when he successfully rode both Party Politics in 1992 and Earth Summit in 1998. Modest Llewellyn stresses that his National wins have both been all about luck but it’s far from just luck that made Llewellyn the champion jockey he was and more the determination that is essential if a jockey is going to ‘make it’.
He rode his first National Hunt winner in 1986 and by the 1987-88 season, with 41 wins under his belt he had taken the conditional jockeys title. In 1988 he made his debut in the Grand National on Ginger McCain-trained Kumbi and even though Llewellyn’s ride was ended by a somersaulting fall, he remained enthusiastic and unphased, reporting it as having been ‘a brilliant first ride’.
His second entry to the National, on Smart Tar resulted in another fall and it was another three years before Llewellyn rode in the National again. This time however it was ‘third time lucky’, even though Llewellyn stated afterward that he had felt very unhappy at the beginning of the race due to Party Politics breathing problems.
At this stage Llewellyn was riding regularly for Nigel Twiston-Davies, who he went on to work with for 19 years. Following many big-race wins and showing further prowess at Aintree, with a third on 100-1 outsider Camelot Knight in 1996, 1998 was Llewellyn’s next big year when he won the National on Earth Summit, by 11 lengths. Earth Summit became the first horse to win at Aintree as well as the Scottish and Welsh Grand Nationals.
He is now back in partnership with Nigel Twiston-Davies and is sure to submit a serious contender for the 2010 Grand National title he could be in with an incredible chance of becoming a winning trainer but for now it’s the Paul Nicholls trained Tricky Trickster that has the bookies all flustered so he might have his work cut out for him…
Tricky Trickster is the big name this year with the following ante-post odds at the bookies:
Ladbrokes – 16/1
Paddy Power – 18/1
Betfair – 21/1
