Liam Treadwell: The Jockey Behind Mon Mome’s 100/1 Grand National Win

There are jockeys who spend an entire career trying to win the Grand National without ever managing it, but Liam Treadwell did it on his first attempt.

He was just 23 years old when he arrived at Aintree in 2009 to ride Mon Mome, a 100/1 outsider trained by Venetia Williams. A little over nine and a half minutes later, Treadwell had won the biggest race of his life by 12 lengths and written his name into Grand National history.

For Treadwell, it should have been the start of a long period in the spotlight, and while his career did include more big-race victories, including a Cheltenham Festival winner, it was also affected by injuries and the pressures that came with life as a professional jockey.

His death in 2020, aged only 34, was met with shock across racing. Yet when Grand National fans remember Liam Treadwell, it is impossible not to return to that afternoon in April 2009, when one of the biggest outsiders in the field simply ran away from them all.

Growing Up Around Horses

Treadwell was born in Arundel, West Sussex, on January 3rd, 1986, where racing was already part of family life.

His parents, Mark and Lorraine, both worked for leading Flat trainer John Dunlop, and Treadwell started riding out for trainers including Dunlop, Nick Gifford and Amanda Perrett while still at school.

He also spent time working with Kiaran McLaughlin in Dubai and at Aidan O’Brien’s Ballydoyle yard.

His first attempt at becoming a professional jockey was actually on the Flat. He worked for Amanda Perrett and later David Nicholls, riding a number of winners, but increasing problems keeping his weight down pushed him towards jump racing.

With the change made, Treadwell joined Venetia Williams and rode his first winner over jumps aboard Little Rort at Towcester in April 2005. Over the next few seasons he built a solid reputation as a capable young rider, with Williams providing many of his opportunities.

Treadwell and Mon Mome

Mon Mome was never a fashionable horse, and although the French-bred gelding had plenty of stamina and was clearly useful, he was not viewed as one of the stars of his generation.

Treadwell knew him particularly well and had ridden him into second place in the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow in December 2006.

Mon Mome then had his first attempt at Aintree in 2008, finishing tenth behind Comply Or Die, so when he returned a year later, very few punters expected much improvement.

He carried 11st in the 2009 Grand National and went off as a rank outsider on 100/1. No horse at those odds had won since Foinavon in 1967.

Treadwell had never ridden in the National before, and years later he recalled that, before the race, his main thought was simply getting over the first fence. Once that was safely behind them, he settled into the race and things began to happen almost naturally.

It turned into one of the best Grand National rides of recent decades.

How Liam Treadwell Won the 2009 Grand National

One of the clever things Treadwell did was keep Mon Mome away from much of the trouble.

He spent a good deal of the race towards the outside, allowing the horse to see the fences and find his own rhythm. There were falls and incidents around them, but Mon Mome continued to jump and gradually moved into contention.

Even late in the race, few people watching would have been expecting the 100/1 chance to win, and with two fences remaining there were still plenty of possible challengers.

Then Mon Mome began to take over, and by the final fence, the main opposition came from Comply Or Die, the winner of the previous year’s Grand National.

It looked briefly as though the 2008 champion might become the first horse since Red Rum to win consecutive Nationals. Instead, Mon Mome powered clear.

Treadwell sent him home to beat Comply Or Die by 12 lengths, with My Will finishing third in the official winning time of 9 minutes 32.9 seconds.

It wasn’t a lucky 100/1 result. Mon Mome ran away with the race, and that is one reason his victory remains such an interesting part of Grand National history. A horse almost nobody fancied had simply been much better than the opposition on the day.

From Unknown Jockey to Grand National Winner

It wasn’t that racing fans didn’t know who Treadwell was, but when the likes of McCoy, Walsh, Johnson, Russell and Geraghty are grabbing all of the headlines, it’s easy to get lost in the mix.

After the National win, however, Treadwell suddenly found himself receiving the kind of attention few jockeys experience.

There was even an unfortunate moment during the BBC’s post-race coverage when presenter Clare Balding commented on Treadwell’s teeth during an interview. The remark attracted criticism, and the BBC and Balding subsequently apologised.

The strange little episode became part of the story surrounding the 2009 National, but it rather distracted from what Treadwell had actually achieved.

A 23-year-old jockey having his first ride in the Grand National had produced an extremely calm performance aboard one of the biggest outsiders in the field, and it would remain the defining result of his career.

There Was More to Treadwell Than Mon Mome

Although the Grand National win overshadowed almost everything else Treadwell achieved, he continued to ride plenty of good horses.

Later in 2009 he won the United House Gold Cup at Ascot aboard another big outsider, The Last Derby, who started at 33/1.

Perhaps his most satisfying victory after Aintree came at the 2013 Cheltenham Festival when he rode Carrickboy, trained by Williams, to win the Byrne Group Plate at 50/1. Carrickboy made the running and held off Vino Griego by a length and a half.

For a jockey forever introduced as a Grand National winner, finally getting his Cheltenham Festival success meant a great deal.

Other notable victories included the Grand Sefton aboard Bennys Mist, the Rehearsal Chase on Otago Trail and a Grade 2 success aboard Aso.

Across his career, Treadwell rode more than 300 winners.

Injuries Began to Take Their Toll

Like many jump jockeys, Treadwell suffered numerous injuries, including a particularly serious fall at Bangor in March 2016 which left him unconscious. He later spoke openly about how difficult things became following that accident, saying the pressure of riding became increasingly difficult to cope with.

So, in February 2018, aged 32, he announced his retirement, at which stage he had ridden 298 winners and intended to remain involved in racing away from competitive riding.

The retirement did not last, and after working for trainer Ed de Giles, Treadwell returned to race riding and became assistant trainer to Alastair Ralph. He rode another ten winners during the 2019-20 season.

Sadly, his return would be short-lived.

Liam Treadwell’s Death

Treadwell was found dead at his home in Shropshire on June 23rd, 2020. He was just 34.

An inquest held the following year found that he died from multi-drug toxicity, and the inquest also heard that Treadwell had experienced depression following concussion from his 2016 fall and had been through a difficult period during the months before his death.

Tributes from racing showed just how well liked he had been. Venetia Williams described his death as a massive shock and said Treadwell had been like part of the family. Champion jockey Brian Hughes remembered him as both a good jockey and an even better person.

Liam Treadwell’s Place in Grand National History

There is something remarkable about the fact that Liam Treadwell’s first Grand National ride became one of the great Aintree shocks.

Mon Mome wasn’t scrambling home after the favourites had disappeared, instead he beat the previous year’s winner by 12 lengths.

Treadwell judged the race beautifully, kept his horse away from trouble and still had enough underneath him to take control after the last.

For all the difficulties that followed during his career, nothing can take that afternoon away.

Every year when the list of Grand National winners reaches 2009, the names remain together: Mon Mome. Liam Treadwell. Venetia Williams. 100/1.