Richard Dunwoody's Blog by Richard_Dunwoody

Hello all. It promises to be a great week in store with Grand National coming up this weekend and already a good time had at the Irish National.

Earlier this week I had a great time at Fairyhouse for the Irish National and then tomorrow I'll be at Aintree where I'll be doing some filming, and also some course walks for new racegoers. On Thursday I'll start work for the BBC and be working with the team through the week right through to the big one on Saturday.

People are always asking me for tips, and this year I'd really like to see Niche Market run well. He won the Irish National last year and his trainer Bob Buckler is a nice guy and a good friend with a really nice family. At a 16-1 shot, it looks worth a go.

If you're into betting, then you can have some good fun on the National with three or four bets by including a short odds one, maybe two medium, and perhaps a long one. People may be surprised to find that I don't really bet. As a jockey you're not allowed to bet, but even now I'm retired I don't really bet. I've never been much of a betting man anyway - it doesn't really do much for me. 

Every time the Grand National approaches, it brings back some great memories. As a jockey, winning on Miinnehoma in 1994 was definitely the pinnacle of my career because people didn't expect him to win - I think he around an 16-1 or 18-1 shot - whereas when I won with West Tip eight years earlier he had been expected to win. (Check out the video of my win below)

I won a Gold Cup and the National, and for some jockeys it is the Gold Cup that is the one, but for me winning the National that second time when not many gave us much of a chance was the real pinnacle. The victory came at a stage in my career when I was better able to appreciate it. 

During the week I'll also be doing some promotion and signing for my new book 'Method in My Madness - 10 Years Out of the Saddle' which talks of my life post-racing. I share lots of racing anecdotes and my thoughts on how racing has changed, plus my opinions on the jockeys of today, including Tony McCoy. In addition there's plenty on my activities outside racing including following in Shackleton's footsteps to the South Pole, and my walking challenge when I covered 1,000 miles in 1,000 hours, so there's something whether you are a racing fan or not. 

I'm also starting to think about my forthcoming trip to Afghanistan but will tell you more about this next week. Until then, best of luck with your picks for the weekend's National.