Yes, he won the National ... but Davy’s family are his real triumph
YOUR dad might have just won the most famous horse race in the world, but when your little brother has a packet of Love Hearts and you don’t, then all the trophies in the world can’t prevent your little world from crashing down around you.
Such was the sticky situation in which three-year-old Lily Russell found herself on Monday evening, when RTÉ’s Six One News team came to her home in Youghal to film an interview with her Grand Nationalwinning father. It had been an extraordinary few days for Davy Russell: on Saturday, he won the National on Michael O’Leary’s horse, Tiger Roll. The following day, he had two winners at Thurles, and on Monday, he returned to his young family and a houseful of well-wishers.
But none of that mattered as Davy, his wife Edelle, Lily, two-year-old Finn and three-week-old Liam lined up on the sofa for their big interview. I can’t quite compete with former pole-vaulting champion Edelle, but as a nostalgic one-time mother of three children under five, the joyful, chaotic family drama that was about to play out on live TV was more than familiar to me.
Finn, it seemed, had been given a packet of Love Hearts – which may or may not have taken the form of a bribe – and with great concentration, he set about opening the sweet treats. Lily, meanwhile, sitting on her champion jockey dad’s lap, was eyeing up this activity with growing disgruntlement. As Davy tried to talk about winning the race of a lifetime, Lily drew her dad’s attention to the gross miscarriage of justice taking place on the sofa. As consolation, Dad handed her his National trophy; unimpressed, Lily launched into a modest tantrum and, in high dudgeon, fled the scene.
Davy then had a free run at talking the interviewer through the race, but to be honest, by then, I too was distracted by the two-year-old methodically peeling the wrapper from his Love Hearts. When Lily crashed back in a minute later, all smiles and candy lipstick – which may or may not also have been a bribe – she launched herself at her dad’s lap with a natural athleticism that could only come from a pole-vaulting mother and a jockey father, and snuggled herself back into her sweet spot.
‘Here comes the superstar,’ said the superstar. And with that, as if on cue, the latest addition to this beautiful family started mewling for a bottle.
The whole glorious debacle lasted about three minutes, and if you missed it, it’s well worth chasing it down on the RTÉ Player. You probably already knew that Davy Russell won the Grand National. You might know that he lost his beloved mother, Phyllis, just over a month ago. You may have seen him generously dedicate his victory to fellow jockey Pat Smullen, diagnosed with a tumour last month.
BUT everything really important about Davy Russell was contained in those wonderful few minutes of live television, an uplifting snapshot of a happy, hectic young family in action. I have since learnt that Lily rides a pony called Noddy and that Finn waits in the paddock with carrots for the pony whenever his sister rides out. I’m guessing that she’s the boss. She’s certainly a daddy’s girl. As to the stoic Finn, he is simply sweeter than anything his precious packet could contain.
Edelle says that both Lily and Finn think their dad is ‘a very great jockey’ even if they can’t really tell the difference between his wins and his losses. But more than that, it was obvious from this precious family portrait that Davy is a very great family man. Neither he nor Edelle seemed unduly stressed by the unfolding mini-drama on their sofa on Monday evening; for them, this was just their real, everyday life with three children under four. And for those of us who have travelled a similar road, it was a wonderful reminder of the mayhem and magic of those early years and the unparalleled joy they can bring.
They say that there’s a lot of luck in horse racing ,and on the basis of Monday’s interview, Davy Russell is a lucky, lucky man. But if it’s also true that you make your own luck, then the Russells have clearly worked hard to create such a happy, healthy little family. Winning the Grand National is a wonderful achievement and a memory to cherish. But before he ever got into the saddle last Saturday, Davy Russell was already a winner alright.