Papillon – 2000 Grand National Winner

Papillon is an Irish racehorse formerly trained at Greenhills stables, near Naas in County Kildare. Most famous for winning the 2000 Aintree Grand National, he was a first ever ride in the race for 20-year-old jockey Ruby Walsh, and was trained by Ruby’s father Ted Walsh.

At one point nobody was sure if Papillon would even be entered as it’s American owner, Mrs Betty Moran, was not a fan of the Grand National and it took considerable persuasion before she would allow him to be entered in to the race.

Papillon had started the day with odds of 33–1 but was backed down to 10-1 by the time the race began but conditions for the Grand National were very different in 2001 when he tried to win for a second time. He carried more weight and was brought down at the 19th fence but with very few completions Ruby remounted him to finish lin fourth place, earning £25,000 for doing so.