My dad was an iconic jockey who nearly won the most infamous Grand National of all – now I’m making my way as a rider

YOU must have something about you as a jockey if Gordon Elliott trusts you with one of his biggest horses.

And that’s exactly what the three-time Grand National-winning trainer will do with Harry Swan on Saturday.

Times Newspapers Ltd

Swan Snr was labelled ‘different gravy’ by punters during his time in the saddle – but now it’s his lad making waves in racing[/caption]

Elliott has jocked up Harry on Romeo Coolio, a potential superstar who cost a record-breaking £420,000, in a bumper at Fairyhouse.

Success there and he will likely become red-hot favourite for the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham Festival.

Coming from racing royalty, Harry, 21, knows only too well what it means to have a winner over the famed Prestbury Park turf during those four days in March.

After all, his dad Charlie became a legend doing it three years in a row with the iconic Istabraq.

No horse has won more Champion Hurdles than the JP McManus-owned and Aidan O’Brien-trained thunderbolt, who still looks well as a 32-year-old enjoying his retirement at McManus’ Martinstown sanctuary.

Istabraq was arguably the horse of the late 90s, dominating everywhere he went.

In much the same way Constitution Hill sweeps all before him in the same division now, punters flocked to catch a glimpse of the beloved bay eating up the turf in Britain and Ireland.

Riding him in every one of his 29 races over jumps was Harry’s old man Charlie.

The duo formed one of racing’s most memorable duos, adding, among others, the Irish Champion Hurdle, Aintree Hurdle, Hatton’s Grace and Ballymore to their roll of honour.

But incredibly, it was five years before Istabraq won the first of his three Champion Hurdles that Swan Snr almost had his biggest day of all.

The 1993 Grand National has gone down in history as the infamous voided race.

Alamy

There was chaos in the 1993 Grand National with the race declared void and never re-run[/caption]

Alamy

Punters demanded answers from one of the officials after the Aintree shenanigans, where Swan unofficially finished second[/caption]

Some 30 of the 39 runners began and carried on despite there having been declared a false start.

One can only imagine the agony Charlie felt as he crossed the line in second on 25-1 Cahervillahow.

It was a shambles and bookies were forced to return an estimated £75million in bets staked to a bewildered public.

Charlie went from strength to strength after that horror show and, sensing his time as a jockey was coming to an end, took out his training licence.

He had his final ride at Aintree in 2003 – ten years after ‘the race that never was’ – by which time he had already won some big prizes as a handler.

But in 2015 he announced his sudden retirement from training citing rising costs.

Later that year he was ordered to pay more than £100,000 over to the taxman after a probe into ‘offshore assets’.

A combination of ‘undeclared tax income, interest payments and penalties’ led to the six-figure sum.

It was around that time that son Harry was starting to show signs he could mimic his old man in the saddle.

And sure enough in September 2018 he rode his first winner under rules at Worcester on Stacey Sue, a horse trained by his grandfather Timmy Hyde.

Still an amateur, he rides out regularly for Elliott and has gone onto amass more than £500,000 in prize money over the past five seasons.

Victory on Romeo Coolio would be worth around £5,000 and a snip of what the horse cost.

But it could open the door to far, far greater riches in future.

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