North Yorkshire trainer Ann Duffield looks back at the Grand National and has hopes of a fairytale of her own AS the National Hunt season winds down with Aintree’s Grand National meeting as its finale, the Grand National was another rip-roaring success.

Last year, more than 153,000 people attended over three days and this year that number was several thousand higher. More than 600 million people across the world tuned in to watch the 165th running of the world’s greatest steeplechase, and what a race it was.

In my last column, I nominated Kim Bailey's The Last Samuri and he ran a cracker to finish second. He's only a baby and he'll be even stronger next year.

As a scouser, Aintree is in my blood. My father’s betting shop in Anfield was not that far from the track and it was the first racecourse I ever went to, sitting on dad’s wide shoulders while he walked the course. Never in a million years did I think I would be training racehorses one day myself.

Training flat horses is a tough enough game, training National Hunt horses is even tougher and the magic of the big race is such that each year there is deeply moving story with fairytale ending. The ever popular Irish trainer “Mouse Morris” has had a tragic time with the sudden death of his much loved son Christopher - known as Tiffer - last year when travelling in Argentina. A trained chef, Tiff was due home to start his own restaurant when he died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Mouse is one of life’s great characters, the son of Lord Killanin, a former International Olympic chief. He went to Ampleforth College in Yorkshire and, while he apparently showed little aptitude for lessons, he was determined to be a jockey. In the 1970’s, he proved to be one of the best of his generation, winning the Queen Mother Champion chase twice on Skymas.

Success at the top level is no stranger to Mouse who, two weeks ago, won the Irish National with Rogue Angel. But would the angels shine on him twice? When asked by a journalist if he might do the Irish-English National double, he looked to the skies and said: "He's answered the question once, he might not answer a second time."

Thankfully, he did answer, and Rule the World lived up to his name - he ruled the world of racing and put his stamp firmly on the record books. Mouse and all the horse’s connections were left struggling for words in the emotional aftermath.

But the story doesn’t end there, Rule the World was a maiden over fences, this was his fourteenth attempt at winning over jumps. He had also broken his pelvis twice and his jockey, 19-year-old David Mullins, was having his very first ride over the National fences. He is the first teenager to win the race since 1963 when Pat Buckley won on board Ayala for trainer Keith Piggott, Lester’s father.

For the owners, “Gigginstown” and the mighty O’Leary family, it has been a truly remarkable season, having won the Gold Cup with Don Cossack, the Irish Grand National with Rogue Angel and now the Grand National with rule the World. In the words of Michael O’Leary “it doesn’t come any better than this”.

BACK at base camp in Constable Burton, in beautiful Wensleydale, we have a horse we hope might provide us with a fairytale of our own.

She’s called Davinci Dawn and she’s been featured in this newspaper in the past because of the inspiring story behind her name.

She’s owned by David Barker, who was operated on for cancer at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, using a pioneering robotic “surgeon” called Davinci, and he was looked after by a MacMillan cancer nurse called Dawn.

I’m delighted to say that the filly is doing well and coming to hand nicely. We hope to be running her in May so watch out for her.

This week we are set to have a few runners, including impressive juvenile winner Ninetta, who will line up on Thursday (April 14) in the Tattersalls Millions race at Newmarket. It’s an ultra competitive race but she’s a good filly who has earned her place in the line-up.

We also have Rosina running in a listed contest all the way down at Bath on Friday. We've never had a runner at Bath but Rosina did so well to win three last year - including first time out at York - so let’s hope the long journey is worth it.

WE were delighted to see Toboggan’s  Fire win on her seasonal debut at Redcar on Monday.

The filly runs in the colours of Grange Park syndicate and was recording their 32nd winner since they starting operating in 2011.

Alan Crombie, syndicate manager has been slowly building up his owner base and does a great job ensuring all his owners from the very smallest shareholders with only 2.5% upwards are treated very well and kept up to date on the  progress of each horse.

We also have a smashing two year old called  “Port Master” who is almost fully syndicated and Emmerdale actress Claire King has joined Grange Park  too in a lovely filly by top sire Equiano.