Galloping along the seafront was good enough for the nags Southport’s shrimpers bought from the knacker’s yard – and it was good enough for Red Rum.
Salt-of-the-earth car salesman turned trainer Ginger McCain had observed horses eased back to fitness in the waves as a child.
So when he first bought the seven-year-old gelding in 1972 at the Doncaster sales and discovered he had pedal osteitis, a disease of the bone which threatened to cripple him, he headed to the sea.
Red Rum was his latest hope for glory. His methods were unorthodox in racing, but so were his working class roots and Red’s quirks.
As Ginger had hoped, Southport’s waters worked miracles. So much so, he took to galloping Red on the sand with his other horses, making it smooth with a harrow attached to his van.
After all, he lived in the town and had nowhere else to go.
The freezing Irish Sea and windswept beach was an unlikely backdrop for the making of a champion.
It was responsible for the rise of Red Rum, who would soon be crowned the “King of Aintree”, where he’d clinch three Grand Nationals and become the most famous horse in the world with a whole host of celebrity fans.
As Aintree prepares for its 175th National today – the 50th anniversary year of Red Rum’s first Grand National triumph – those who knew him best recall those early years.
“He loved training on the beach and proved quite the handful for his groom,” recalls Tommy Stack, 77, the jockey who rode him to his hat-trick in 1977.
“On his way down he would squeal and buck and kick out at cars parked along the road.
“I think a few wing mirrors might have been found missing!”
Derek Critchley worked in Ginger’s stables with the steeplechaser.
Of Red’s time on the beach, he recalls: “He loved it. At times, the waves were three or four foot. You’d be nearly swept out of the saddle.
“Every horse went in the tide, and every horse went a mile. It was power work. They were up to their chest.
“We went up and down the sand dunes. Some of them went up an incline of 100 yards, over a distance. That strengthened the shoulders.”
Derek adds: “The first couple of spins I had on him, I thought, ‘This is a racehorse’, and he wasn’t anywhere near fit. He wouldn’t be 60% fit and he’d pull your arms out for a mile-and-a-quarter and you were not even moving your hands… he was a freak.”
Ginger was working as a part-time taxi driver when the wheels were set in motion to mould an equine legend. One of his customers, Noel Le Mare, needed a ride to dinner dances. En route, the 84-year-old, who cherished a long-held ambition to own a Grand National winner, enlisted Ginger’s help.
Red Rum had already raced at Aintree, first in 1967, but on the flat.
However, success only came under Ginger – and Red’s first five runs for him scooped five victories. The Grand National was firmly in the duo’s sights.
On the day, Le Mare used the Liverpool Echo to appeal to racegoers not to startle his horse, fearing “an ovation too soon” would reduce his chances. That plea wasn’t heeded, but he needn’t have worried.
Michael Burns, Le Mare’s grandson, was 25 and watching by his grandfather’s side. He recalls a high quality race in which Red – “the underdog” – made up a huge gap to overtake front-runner Crisp as he responded to the roar.
“That was the birth of the horse that became the King of Aintree,” he says.
He explains Red’s greatness was linked to his connection with the crowd. “He loved people… he was the people’s horse and thrived off that. He would rise to the occasion,” says the 75-year-old.
“When he arrived at Aintree and the crowds were shouting, it was almost as if he said, ‘This is my place’. He was like a film star.”
Joanne McCain, 56, Ginger’s daughter, who now works for the charity Racing To School, was six when Red won his first National.
She recalls the horse’s deep connection with people. And as his celebrity grew, so did the invitations to open attractions, shops and even turn on Blackpool Illuminations.
“You could go to open a bookmakers and he would look at the door and walk in. He was just so intelligent,” she says.
“He went to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s garden party, I took him to a school fete and kids were running around under his back legs…
“He always knew if someone was in a wheelchair – he would go up to them and put his head down.”
Joanne, who has stitched Red’s hair, saved from his brush, into the bridle of her brother’s horse Minella Trump, who races today, admits he could misbehave.
And Tommy agrees. He first rode Red with his previous trainer and they didn’t immediately “gel”.
“The first day I schooled him he fell out over the first hurdle and refused the second. He definitely knew his own mind. You could tell he was cleverer than the average racehorse.”
A year after Red’s first National victory he won his second – the first horse in nearly 40 years to win back to back.
The buzz he gave Aintree is credited with saving the faltering National.
Then, after two second places, in 1977, he scooped his third National victory with Tommy on his back.
“The atmosphere was palpable,” Tommy recalls. “I wanted to keep up the middle because of the crowds each side – I was afraid they would spook Red, but he was taking it in as much as me.”
Red’s “demeanour” changed at Ain-tree, where he is buried at the winning post following his death aged 30 in 1995.
“It was as if he grew an extra hand,” Tommy says. “He was cat-like, jumping around the fences.
“After the race, he was brought to a hotel in Southport. The staff took the revolving door off its hinges and he trotted up the steps into the ballroom.”
Red’s three wins cemented his stardom. He appeared on Sports Personality of the Year – reacting to Tommy’s voice when it was relayed on video clip.
He also featured on This Is Your Life, Blue Peter, The Generation Game and Record Breakers. And if anyone wanted to bring him a present?
“He ate Polo mints until they came out of his ears,” laughs Joanne. “We are talking the multipacks… hundreds!”
