It was a sun-drenched afternoon at Aintree on April 14, 2007. The buzz was electric, the nation had wagered £250 million on their favourite horses, and among the 70,000 faces in the stands, few would have picked out the unassuming bay gelding, Silver Birch, as the one to remember.
Yet, as the dust settled, it was this 33/1 outsider, owned by Brian Walsh, trained by a then relatively unknown Gordon Elliott, and steered by Robbie Power, who thundered into the history books with a 2007 Grand National win that would change all their lives.
Silver Birch’s Early Days
Born in 1997 in Ireland, Silver Birch didn’t start as a racing superstar. He was sired by Clearly Bust, out of All Gone, and first ran with the ownership of Paul Barber and Des Nichols, sporting the colors of potential rather than proof.
That potential was realised early, especially in 2004, when Silver Birch, then trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Ruby Walsh, captured both the Becher Chase at Aintree and the Welsh Grand National.
That year, he was full of strong, stubborn energy. The talk in the yards was that this lad could be a Grand National prospect.
But as is so often the way with horses, a touch unlucky and heartbreakingly tough, he missed his big chance in 2005.
Silver Birch picked up a leg injury and sat out the race for which those around him thought he was made.
He came back for the 2006 National, only to tumble at The Chair, and following that, Silver Birch’s owners put him up for sale.
He was picked up by Brian Walsh, a farmer and stud owner from County Kildare, at the Doncaster Sales for 20,000 guineas.
For Walsh, this was a leap: the seasoned punter taking a chance on a horse with more bruises than silverware in recent years.
Walsh couldn’t have known his first runner in the National would deliver something magical.
The Trainer: Gordon Elliott
If you walked into Gordon Elliott’s County Meath yard in 2007, you’d have found a young man full of ambition, not yet full of winners.
Elliott hadn’t even trained a winner in Ireland when he took charge of Silver Birch.
His upbringing was about as unfancy as you can get in racing with no family silver, just a panel-beater dad, a supportive mother, and a love for horses that took him from riding out for Tony Martin to a stint with Martin Pipe.
Elliott’s style was quiet grit. He’d take any horse, big or small, and get the best out of it.
But nobody, not even Elliott, could have guessed that his first Aintree runner would put his name where everyone, overnight, wanted to send their horses.
Robbie Power’s Spare Chance
Robbie Power didn’t initially have the ride on Silver Birch for the 2007 Grand National; Jason Maguire was first choice but opted for another horse.
Power, then 25 and with one prior Grand National ride under his belt, picked up the “spare.”
Yes, his father was an acclaimed show jumper, but Robbie’s path was never golden; his career, like Silver Birch’s, was built on perseverance and chance.
He’d won his first race at the Punchestown Festival and chipped away with good results in Ireland, but Aintree would be the big break.
The Road to Aintree 2007
Form can be a fickle friend. By early 2007, Silver Birch wasn’t the bookies’ darling; memories of his strong 2004 season were dulled by a spill in the 2006 National.
He’d run well at the Cheltenham Festival, second in a cross-country event, but arrived at Aintree as a long shot among long shots.
The 2007 Grand National itself wasn’t without its drama before the off. Starter Peter Haines came under fire for too many attempts to line up the field, and it wasn’t until the sixth try that the race finally started.
Among the field, 33/1 Silver Birch settled into his rhythm, avoiding early chaos as favourites like Point Barrow crashed out at the first fence.
As the field thinned and the race quickened, Power kept Silver Birch out of trouble, letting him travel at his own honest pace.
Coming to the last fence, with McKelvey closing fast and Slim Pickings spent, Power asked Silver Birch for one last effort.
He pricked his ears, locked onto the birch, and carried Power past McKelvey’s lunging challenge to win the 2007 Grand National by three-quarters of a length.
Afterwards, Power was jubilant, saying, “Unbelievable. What a ride I got the whole way round. He jumped and travelled great.
“We were worried he wouldn’t be able to lay-up early on, but it meant I was able to keep out of trouble”.
Silver Birch had found the race that matched his bravery, and in doing so, changed lives with every stride.
In the background, the bookmakers grinned: few punters had thrown faith behind Silver Birch, and with the three market leaders all unseated or fallen, most of the betting money stayed in their pockets.
Still, for those cheering the plucky outsider, it was a win worth a dozen favourites’ trophies.
Aftermath
The win was a fairytale – yes, but also the sum of hard work, shrewd judgment, and persistence.
Gordon Elliott, suddenly thrust into the limelight, became one of the world’s leading trainers, later winning two more Grand Nationals and dozens of Cheltenham Festival races.
Power, though suspended for excessive whip use in the final strides, had made his name and went on to a glittering career with victories at the highest level.
As for Silver Birch, his Grand National title wasn’t his only big day. He’d already won the Becher Chase and the Welsh National, and even after his 2007 heroics, he kept racing, contesting the 2009 Grand National but falling again at Becher’s.
He was retired in 2010, cherished as the horse who had made a dream come true for a young trainer and his team.
This was the win that proved the Grand National still does what it should: gives dreamers their moment.
For Elliott, Power, and Walsh, Silver Birch was more than just a horse, he was validation and victory, rolled into one humble bay Irish gelding.
If you ever need proof that the outsiders can win, that hard work and luck can collide in the sweetest way, or that racing’s finest moments can come from overlooked corners, just go back and watch Silver Birch cling to his lead in the dying strides.
It’s the story every race fan hopes to be part of, even if just from the grandstand, the sofa, or, for a lucky few, from the winner’s enclosure.
