2001 Grand National
| Grand National | |
| Location | Aintree |
|---|---|
| Date | 7 April 2001 |
| Winning horse |
 Red Marauder
|
| Jockey |
Richard Guest |
| Trainer |
Norman Mason |
| Owner |
Norman Mason |
| Conditions | Heavy |
|
← 2000
2002 →
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The 2001 Grand National (known as the Martell Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 154th official running of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 7 April 2001.
The steeplechase was won by a distance by 33/1 shot Red Marauder, ridden by jockey Richard Guest, in a time of over 11 minutes. The winner was also trained by his jockey and owned by Norman Mason, in whose name the training licence was held, with Guest as his assistant, though Guest did all the training at his base in Crook, County Durham and ran in the trainer's colours of red with a blue hoop, three blue hoops on the sleeves and a red and blue hooped cap.
The field was limited to a maximum of 40 competitors, of which only two completed the course without mishap (two others were re-mounted to complete) and the race was run in heavy going. It was notable for an unusually high number of falls, including eight at the first Canal Turn, and it came in for criticism in some quarters, believing that the conditions were too wet and muddy. However, supporters of the race were quick to point out that the slow pace and bottomless ground benefitted the race as there were no injuries sustained to any horse or rider.
The 2001 outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease had led to the Cheltenham Festival and many other fixtures being abandoned before the Grand National meeting. However, the National got the go-ahead from racing officials. On the day, the race went ahead despite adverse weather, with high winds and an extremely heavy going.
Jockey Paul Flynn was the subject of a frantic search when Mick Fitzgerald was forced to stand down as rider of Esprit De Cotte less than two hours before the race. When Flynn did not respond to calls and texts to his mobile phone, two Tannoy announcements were sent out around the course for him to report to the weighing room. When he still did not respond an urgent message was sent out over the BBC via its live coverage of the build-up of the race. Flynn, who had never before ridden in a National, could not be located in time and the ride instead went to Tom Doyle. Flynn never got another chance to ride in the race.
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