The race was won in a time of 9 minutes 9.7 seconds and by a distance of 1+1⁄4 lengths by 10/1 shot Papillon, ridden by jockey Ruby Walsh.

The winner was trained by his father Ted Walsh and ran in American Betty Moran's colours of green with ice blue piping.

He was again partnered by Paul Carberry and featured prominently in the early stages of the race until making a bad mistake at the seventh fence.

Earthmover was a top hunter chaser who had run steadily in three-mile chases, including the Welsh National where he finished third, leading many to view him as an ideal Aintree type.

Micko's Dream was considered the form horse going into the race after winning two three-mile chases in January and February but was sent off at 14/1 due to concerns that the ground was not soft enough for him.

Future winner Barry Geraghty finished fifth with Ollie McPhail and Bruce Gibson also completing the course, while Jimmy McCarthy fell at the final fence.

[5][6][7] The BBC retained the rights to broadcast the race live for 41st consecutive year and it was shown as a Grandstand Grand National special.

[9] A post-race re-run, using slow motion and additional camera angles, including inside fences was presented by Richard Pitman.

All of the major national daily newspapers in the UK published pullout sections of their Saturday morning editions ranging from four to sixteen pages with most including full colour guides of the competitors.