Aldaniti remains one of the most loved horses in British racing history — not for the number of his wins, but for the manner of one. On 4 April 1981, the chestnut gelding carried jockey Bob Champion to victory in the Grand National at Aintree, only months after Champion had finished chemotherapy for testicular cancer that doctors had given him a forty per cent chance of surviving. Aldaniti himself had broken down so badly the previous year that vets had recommended putting him down. Their joint return from near-death to the most demanding steeplechase in the world is the kind of sporting story that is too perfect to fabricate. It became a film, two books, and a fundraising charity that has since raised more than £15 million for cancer research.
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Early Life and Breeding
Aldaniti was foaled in 1970 at Harrowgate Farm in County Durham, by the Italian-bred stallion Derek out of the mare Renardeau. His name was a contraction of the names of his breeder Tommy Barron’s four grandchildren — Alastair, David, Nicola and Timothy. The chestnut gelding was a slow-maturing, leggy youngster with a deep heart and a kind eye, but few of the obvious markings of a future Grand National winner.
He was sold as a youngster and eventually came under the ownership of Yorkshire businessman Nick Embiricos, who placed him with the Findon-based trainer Josh Gifford. Gifford, a former champion National Hunt jockey himself, had a reputation for patience with fragile horses — a quality Aldaniti would come to need more than most.
A Career Defined by Injury
Aldaniti’s racing record was punctuated by long absences caused by tendon and joint problems. He won his first race over hurdles at Ascot in November 1974 and progressed through the seasons with promise — finishing third in the 1979 Cheltenham Gold Cup behind Alverton and Royal Mail — but he repeatedly broke down in training.
The most serious injury came in 1979, when he chipped a bone in his off-fore knee. Vets advised that he be put down. Embiricos and Gifford instead opted for a long, careful programme of box rest, in-hand walking, swimming and gradually escalating ridden work. The horse was effectively rebuilt over fourteen months. He returned to racing in February 1981 — barely six weeks before the Grand National.
The Bob Champion Partnership
Bob Champion was Gifford’s stable jockey and had ridden Aldaniti in most of his races. In July 1979 — the same year Aldaniti broke down — Champion was diagnosed with testicular cancer. The disease had spread to his lungs. Doctors at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London told him the prognosis was poor: a forty per cent chance of survival, even with the experimental chemotherapy regime they were trialling.
Through the brutal months of treatment, Champion was kept going partly by the visualisation of riding Aldaniti — then on box rest with his shattered knee — to victory in the Grand National. Champion later said in interviews that the picture in his head, repeated through every chemotherapy session, was the green and yellow Embiricos colours coming up the Aintree run-in in front. The image was identical to what eventually happened.
By the autumn of 1980, Champion had completed treatment and was rebuilding his fitness. Aldaniti was simultaneously being walked back into work. Their parallel recoveries became one of the most-followed back stories in British sport.
The 1981 Grand National
The 1981 Grand National at Aintree on 4 April attracted enormous public attention because of the Champion-Aldaniti story. The horse went off second favourite at 10/1, despite having run only two preparatory races since returning from injury. Bookmakers expected a sentimental gamble; what nobody expected was that he would jump round the most testing fences in racing without a single mistake.
| Race | 1981 Grand National |
|---|---|
| Date | 4 April 1981 |
| Course | Aintree, Liverpool |
| Distance | 4 miles 514 yards (approx. 7,200 m) |
| Fences | 30 (over two circuits) |
| Winner | Aldaniti |
| Jockey | Bob Champion |
| Trainer | Josh Gifford |
| Owner | Nick Embiricos |
| Starting price | 10/1 |
| Winning margin | 4 lengths from Spartan Missile |
| Time | 9 min 47.2 sec |
Race Report: How the Win Unfolded
Champion settled Aldaniti in the front rank from the start, riding a positive race in the knowledge that Aldaniti’s recently-rebuilt knee would do better in clean air than buried in a pack. The horse jumped Becher’s Brook on the first circuit fluently, surged across the Canal Turn and was disputing the lead with Royal Mail and Senator Maclacury at the Chair.
On the second circuit, Aldaniti took the lead clearing the second Becher’s Brook and never looked likely to be caught. Spartan Missile, ridden by his amateur owner-trainer John Thorne, mounted a late charge from the elbow but found the chestnut a length too good. Royal Mail finished third, with the favourite Bregawn back in fourth.
The winning time of 9 minutes 47.2 seconds was unremarkable; the symbolism of the result was extraordinary. Television commentator Peter O’Sullevan, calling his thirtieth Grand National for the BBC, described it as “the most popular Grand National victory of all time” — a verdict echoed by virtually every newspaper the following day.
Aftermath and Public Reaction
The reception in the unsaddling enclosure was unlike any other Grand National. Champion, then 32, was lifted off Aldaniti by Josh Gifford and stable lad Peter Double, both in tears. The horse was greeted by an enormous, sustained roar from the Aintree crowd. The royal box, BBC commentary box, press room and Champion’s medical team all reported the same thing: a sense that something larger than a horse race had just happened.
Within days the story dominated the British press. Champion received bags of letters from cancer patients across the country who saw in his return a model for their own. Nick Embiricos, characteristically modest, gave most of the credit to the horse and to Josh Gifford’s patience.
Aldaniti ran once more after the Grand National — in the 1982 renewal, where he was brought down at the first fence — and was then retired sound to Embiricos’s farm in Sussex. He lived comfortably until 1997, dying at the age of 27. His grave at the farm became a quiet pilgrimage site for racing enthusiasts.
The Bob Champion Cancer Trust
Champion did not let the publicity slip away. In 1983 he founded the Bob Champion Cancer Trust with the aim of raising money for research into testicular and male-specific cancers. The trust has since raised over £15 million, funded the Bob Champion Cancer Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, and contributed to the research that has lifted survival rates for testicular cancer from 40 per cent in the late 1970s to over 95 per cent today.
Aldaniti himself made dozens of public appearances for the trust into his twenties, walking through London, opening fundraising events and being patted by tens of thousands of people. He was, by all accounts, perfectly happy with all of it.
Legacy in Racing and Beyond
Aldaniti’s significance extends well beyond his single Grand National. He demonstrated, in the most public way possible, that a National Hunt horse with a serious injury could come back to the highest level if rehabilitation was patient and skilled. His recovery influenced veterinary practice and trainer attitudes towards injury management, particularly around tendon and joint rehabilitation.
His story also reshaped the public’s view of the Grand National itself. In a decade when the race’s safety record was under increasing scrutiny, the 1981 victory provided a powerful reminder of what could go right — a horse and rider both literally returned from near-death, winning the most challenging steeplechase in the calendar.
For sustained connection between horse, rider, trainer and owner, few stories in modern racing match it. The Embiricos-Gifford-Champion partnership was a model of patient horsemanship over twelve years.
Aldaniti in Books and Film
- Champion’s Story (1981) — Bob Champion and Jonathan Powell’s bestselling co-written autobiography, published shortly after the Grand National win.
- Champions (1984) — Feature film starring John Hurt as Bob Champion, with Aldaniti himself appearing in the racing scenes. Directed by John Irvin, it remains one of the better racing films ever made.
- Numerous documentaries have revisited the story, including BBC retrospectives at the 25th and 40th anniversaries of the win.
The 1981 Grand National is regularly voted, in BBC and racing-press polls, the greatest sporting moment in National Hunt history.
Frequently Asked Questions
What breed was Aldaniti?
Aldaniti was an English-bred Thoroughbred gelding, by the Italian-bred stallion Derek out of the mare Renardeau. Like virtually all National Hunt horses, he was a Thoroughbred designed for steeplechasing rather than flat racing.
How did Aldaniti get his name?
His name was made from the first letters of breeder Tommy Barron’s four grandchildren: Alastair, David, Nicola and Timothy.
How old was Aldaniti when he won the Grand National?
Aldaniti was 11 years old when he won the 1981 Grand National — a typical age for a National winner.
What happened to Aldaniti after the Grand National?
He ran in the 1982 Grand National (brought down at the first fence) and was then retired to Nick Embiricos’s farm in Sussex. He made many public appearances for the Bob Champion Cancer Trust and lived to the age of 27, dying in 1997.
What is the Bob Champion Cancer Trust?
A charity founded by Bob Champion in 1983 to fund research into male-specific cancers. The trust has raised over £15 million and supports the Bob Champion Cancer Research Unit at the University of East Anglia.
Where was Aldaniti buried?
Aldaniti was buried at Nick Embiricos’s farm at Barkfold Manor in West Sussex, where he had spent his retirement.
Who has won the Grand National more times — horse or jockey records?
Three horses have won the Grand National three times: Red Rum (1973, 1974, 1977), Tiger Roll (2018, 2019), and the original three-time winner Manifesto (1897, 1899). Among jockeys, George Stevens holds the record with five wins between 1856 and 1870. Aldaniti’s single win in 1981 stands among the most celebrated rather than the most numerous.
For more racing history, read our profiles of Red Rum, Desert Orchid, and Kauto Star.
