Neigh sweat! Meet the winner of the virtual Grand National who didn’t even need to leave the paddock
- Potters Corner won his trainer Christian Williams a virtual fortune yesterday
- Five million tuned in to watch a computer simulation of the Grand National
- Bookmakers are to donate a real £2.6million to NHS charities as a result
He had just won his trainer a virtual fortune by coming first in the computer simulated Grand National at 18-1.
But Potters Corner was yesterday enjoying a real-world rest at his home farm in Ogmore-by-Sea in the Vale of Glamorgan.
And trainer Christian Williams was looking rather proud of him.
Potters Corner was yesterday enjoying a real-world rest at his home farm in Ogmore-by-Sea in the Vale of Glamorgan. And trainer Christian Williams was looking rather proud of him
For while the Grand National could not be run at Aintree this year – thanks to the coronavirus lockdown – almost five million viewers tuned in to watch a computer simulation of the race broadcast on ITV on Saturday.
And bookmakers are to donate a real £2.6million to NHS charities as a result.
Potters Corner was ‘ridden’ to victory by teenage jockey Jack Tudor, beating Walk in the Mill in the final stretch
Potters Corner was ‘ridden’ to victory by teenage jockey Jack Tudor, beating Walk in the Mill in the final stretch, with the virtual event drawing in almost a respectable third of the TV audience at the time.
Potters Corner’s trainer Mr Williams, a former jockey himself, said after the race: ‘I’m delighted, it’s great, and great to cheer everyone up, stuck in their houses in tough times – I think even people from outside of racing were tuned in.’
The virtual race involves computer imagery and mathematical calculations based on racing form.