Grand National 2018 – Carl Llewellyn remembers Earth Summit’s win
Carl Llewellyn, now assistant trainer to Nigel Twiston-Davies, remembers his Grand National win on Earth Summit in testing ground and looks ahead to Blaklion's chances in this year's renewal at Aintree.
FEW riders ever get to experience the thrill of winning the world’s greatest race.
Even fewer get to do it twice.
Lucky Carl Llewellyn is one of those. He scored on Party Politics in 1992 and Earth Summit six years later.
Now-retired Llewellyn, 52, vividly remembered how the stage was set for Nigel Twiston-Davies’s mud-loving Earth Summit to slog through the testing Aintree ground.
He said: “The night before we were out in Liverpool and as we were walking back it was pouring with rain.
“The more it rained, the more chance he had as he handled that ground so well. We were worried about it being on with the forecast and we heard mumblings of it possibly being cancelled.
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“Plenty of horses running in it hated it, so we got lucky with that.
“The preparation went well and we were very happy with the horse. We were just hoping for a nice round.”
Having hunted around in the middle of the pack early on, Llewellyn worked the 7-1 favourite into it before going on over four out with Suny Bay.
Pulling clear, the pair were virtually stride for stride until the last, when Earth Summit, who was receiving more than a stone in weight from the grey, forged on to claim victory by 11 lengths.
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Llewellyn said: “At the start he could be a bit funny trying to plant himself and that was the first anxious moment, but he jumped off.
“I purposely went out wide, as I wanted to keep out the way of the other horses and the ground was fresher there. I didn’t want to be around other horses, as he could curl up under you.
“The race went very smoothly. He travelled very well. He got distracted at one fence, I think it was one of the ditches he got in close to, but he was very clever.
“Apart from that, he never touched a twig and never gave me a nervous moment.
“The further he went, the more the opposition went away. He got there travelling as good as you can in a National. The only thing that could get him beat was me and luckily I didn’t do that.
“Suny Bay ran a hell of a race in second and I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves. I thought Graham Bradley gave him a fantastic ride.”
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He added: “The first time I won it, I didn’t take it all in. It was a bit of a blur and I couldn’t believe it had happened. I enjoyed the second as I felt as confident as you can be with the ground and the horse.
“It was the best walk-in in the world into the unsaddling enclosure and it was fantastic doing it again. You want it to go on forever, as the crowd get behind you.
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“I had Mark Dwyer’s retirement party at York racecourse that night. I had bought a ticket for that so I didn’t want to waste it. It was great, as all the northern and southern lads were there.
“I got up early the next morning to drive back to see the horse. It was a popular turnout, as he had a lot of supporters. It was a great time.”
Llewellyn, now assistant trainer to Twiston-Davies, could be associated with a third winner with Blaklion this afternoon.
He said: “Blaklion has had a wind operation since his last run, which will hopefully help.
“He hit the front too soon in last year’s race and he won’t be hitting it as early this year.
“Hopefully the ground will dry up a bit.
“He has been trained for the race and has got a great chance.”