WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Comply Or Die, the easy winner of the T.A.H. 2008 Worst Horse Name of the Year Award, produced a gutsy jumping display to win the $1.59 million Grand National Steeplecahse at Aintree near Liverpool on Saturday.

The race is constantly under pressure from English animal rights group exorcised over the inherent danger of the long race with big jumps such as Beecher’s Brook and The Chair. This year 40 horses started and only 15 finished. There have been 11 fatalities in the past 11 years.
So who names their horse Comply or Die? Jeez.

All that aside, the 7-1 well-backed joint favorite triumphed by four lengths from King Johns Castle (20-1), ridden by Paul Carberry, with Snowy Morning (16-1) a further length-and-a-half back in third after the four-and-a-half mile marathon over 30 fences.

Irishman Timmy Murphy, 33, was always going well on Comply Or Die and pushed him into the lead at the last of 30 fences. The nine-year-old then readily held off his pursuers to give Murphy his first National win in 12 attempts.

Murphy has overcome his own demons to get his career back on track. He has battled alcoholism and in 2002 served a short prison sentence for indecently assaulting an air stewardess when drunk on a flight back to London.

Nice, Timmy, NICE!

(Photos by Carl De Souza/AFP/Getty Images and Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images)