Even the most devout pessimist would be forced to suck lemon and admit that both of the recent National Hunt festivals went down as unqualified successes, showing the sport in a positive light from all angles.
What must now be faced up to though, is the home truth that it is not simply a case of kicking on forwards with some magic spell dissipating all problems that are threatening to destabilise the sport.
Back in the cold light of day, we must realise that we are back to square one and that even Tiger Roll cannot solve the problems of the prize money cuts that will hit the sport from next year ! He is a remarkably versatile character but exists in an era where you can choose to let the event pass by unnoticed.
What useful purpose is served by this myth being repeated each year of this six hundred odd million watching the race worldwide ? Talk about massaging figures, if the sports news in Russia shows a thirty second clip from the race, then those watching are classed as viewers.
I was speaking to someone who spent the weekend in Mallorca, and who was met with a nonplussed gaze when asking the barman in a 'Sports Bar' they frequented, whether they would be showing the Grand National. Fact is, they had never heard of it which is very much the norm in all these countries in which we are told sit down in their masses each year to watch the race.
Another aspect of the past weekend which I find disconcerting, are all these sly little digs that those who should no better are having at Red Rum.
It has been alluded to that better quality fields are now assembled for the race without adding that the race is, in reality, 'The Grand National In Name Only Chase', so far is it now removed from the fearsome but fair examination for its contestants that gave us knots in the stomach from those walking the course on 'Jumps Sunday', right up to and during the race itself, particularly on the occasions the runners approached Becher's Brook, which now resembles a Lion that had been killed, stuffed, and had his head put on the wall.
That 1974 performance by Rummy, on his favoured good ground, giving weight away to former dual Gold Cup winner L'Escargot, showed he was top class at his best as well as being durable.
And those of us who are able to boast that they were present on that famous day in 1977 will not yield to opinion that there are days that have since surpassed that. Quite frankly, the day had it all.
For the racing connoisseur we were graced to witness live that tremendous tussle in the Templegate Hurdle when Night Nurse and Monksfield dead heated. The former was giving away six pounds to his rival and the Timeform organisation have that performance down as the best by a hurdler in the history of the sport. Even the Racecourse Association voted him horse of the year ahead of Red Rum, by twenty three to sixteen votes.
On to the big one. The horse that had become public property being willed on by all present. We know Andy Pandy was tanking along when he came down second Bechers, (can we forget the cheer that erupted ..oops ! ), and in truth the strong likelihood was that he would never have been caught had he stood up. However, the challenge of the race centred around the obstacles which the winner took in his stride to produce one of Britain's greatest sporting moments.
Rummy performed in the day's of three channel TV. His legend could not be ignored as it grew and blossomed. The face of the lad who looked after him for the second part of his Grand National career, the late, long haired Billy Beardwood, was more recognisable than any other stable lad before him, and probably all since.
There have been better steeplechasers than Rummy and numerous better one off individual Grand National performances. But no animal ever did more for the sport in Great Britain.
And since his time, only Desert Orchid could be put on the same equine celebrity level, with the ability to pull in swathes of new fans to the sport. It is possible to heap deserved praise on Tiger Roll without resorting to besmirching past greats from the race, when it was the real Grand National.
On a positive note, it was pleasing that the racing press handled the three fatalities at the meeting in the way that they should have done all along. It was mentioned that there always lurks a trap door in National Hunt racing. That could not describe the nature of the sport more succinctly. And the message to all was, it's a thrilling sport but can never be made danger free so fatalities have to be taken on the chin.
This is a stance that must continue as the other media outlets will not be so dismissive. The Mail On Sunday concentrated on the death of Up For Review, circling the fallen horse in a picture of the field racing away from the first fence. They also put up a picture of the field passing erected screens around a runner that survived.
That paper along with the Daily Mail itself, a so called patriotic paper, has long took quite a few snipes at National Hunt racing down the years, even giving the impression that they would not be sorry to see it consigned to the history books. In the present day of falling paper sales the Mail is still able to sell on average one and a half million copies a day , and by making mischief is capable of causing angst in the sport if it choose to make a concentrated effort up that path.
In the evening when they review the papers on Sky News, they had a strangely ambivalent character by the name of Simon on who first praised Tiger Roll, said he loved the horse, then unexpectedly added that steeple-chasing is barbaric and akin to bull fighting ! The presenter did not ask him to elaborate.
In the readers comments section in a paper local to Aintree, someone wrote , " Post pictures of the injured and dead horses if you wanna report the truth. This blood sport is barbaric. We don't want this. You bet they die. All lives matter."
Another reader responded with, " Who is 'we'. You and your tree hugging, unemployed, smelly charity shop clothes wearing greasy haired scruffs ? "
Perhaps if everyone had taken the stance of this reader a few decades back then we would still have the race that has now gone forever.
Image by Karen Roe reproduced under creative commons licence
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