The 2005 Grand National (known as the John Smith's Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 158th official annual running of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase which took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 9 April 2005 and attracted the maximum permitted field of 40 competitors for total prize money of £700,000 including £406,000 to the winner.
The nine-year-old 7/1 favourite Hedgehunter, ridden by Ruby Walsh and trained by Willie Mullins, won the race by 14 lengths, in a time of 9 minutes 21 seconds. 40/1 shot Royal Auclair finished second, from 66/1-rated Simply Gifted in third.
The start of the race was moved back 25 minutes in order to avoid clashing with the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. Over half of the field completed the course and all the horses returned safely, although Frenchman's Creek was retired afterward. There was much media interest in Carrie Ford, the rider of Forest Gunner, who was considered the first genuine opportunity a woman had to win a Grand National. The pairing was sent off as second-favourite and finished fifth.
The showpiece race was seen by the largest attendance at Aintree since the Monday National of 1997, with a crowd of 70,850 people, and a total of 151,660 over the course of the three-day meeting.
Read more about 2005 Grand National: Finishing Order, Coverage, Jockeys
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