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Dream Alliance Can Defy Odds To Be Fairytale Winner Of Grand National 2010
Saturday 30 January 2010 at 10:29
 The Grand National is renowned for heart-warming stories with the likes of Bob Champion's win on Aldaniti and Red Rum's hat-trick of victories well known by even those who have never had a bet. The story of one horse due to run in the Grand National this year could end up in the same vein if Dream Alliance is victorious at Aintree.
Humble Beginnings
Jan Vokes bred Dream Alliance for a syndicate of twenty-three owners who make up the Alliance Partnership but Jan had no experience of breeding horses and was working behind the bar in a workingman's club at the time a group of regulars suggested they would be interested in owning a racehorse.
Jan suggested to her husband that she would like to try and breed a racehorse so she bought a mare and foaled Dream Alliance. The young foal was born and reared on a disused Welsh valley allotment but he flourished and eventually went into training with Philip Hobbs in Minehead, Somerset.
Star Quality
The young horse won two of his first five races and was hardly out of the frame in any of his races, including a memorable second to Denman in the 2007 Hennessy Gold Cup which sparked the grand idea that Dream Alliance might one day head to Aintree for the Grand National
Life-Threatening Injury
Unfortunately all thoughts of Grand National glory had to be shelved when Dream Alliance severed a tendon in his leg in a handicap hurdle, at all places, Aintree.
His injuries were thought to be life-threatening for a while but the quick thinking of jockey Richard Johnson that day in ensuring the horse remained calm and still was vitally important so that the injury did not reach a critical point.
It did though appear that Dream Alliance's racing days were over and the partnership was resigned to believing their hero would now become their pet. However, highly advanced stem-cell surgery was suggested as a possible way of getting 'Dream' back to fitness but it would not be cheap - £20,000. The Partnership found the money and, miraculously, the horse made it back to racing fitness.
Welsh Glory And On To Aintree
After just one comeback run, and nearly eighteen months off the track, Dream Alliance lined up in the ultra-competitive Welsh National. Amazingly he defied common sense by galloping to a famous victory at Chepstow, repaying the faith showed in him by owners, trainers and breeders. Now the target is back focused on Aintree and all connections are dreaming of Grand National glory. What a story that would be!
Why not check out our Grand National Odds to see what price Dream Alliance is for what would be an amazing victory.
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