Cumbrian jockey Maurice Barnes remembers his historic Grand National victory on Rubstic as if it was yesterday.

Tomorrow will be the 40th anniversary of the Farlam trainer’s biggest feat, when the world’s greatest steeplechase takes place at Aintree.

Rubstic, a 25/1 shot for racing’s most famous National Hunt prize, edged ahead of Zongalero over the final fence before keeping his nose in front up to the line.

Those who remember the 1979 epic will recall the words of racing great Peter O’Sullevan: “It’s anybody’s race as they run into the final furlong, and it’s Rubstic on the nearside with the advantage over Zongalero and Rough and Tumble as they race up towards the line. It’s gonna be a victory for Scotland, it’s Rubstic from Zongalero in the National, and as they come to the line, Rubstic is the winner!”

Rubstic became the first Scottish-trained winner of the National, and Maurice, 68, who is originally from Greystoke, said: “I remember it vividly. There was no special preparation, it was just another day’s racing.

“We were very hopeful. Rubstic had just won the Durham National at Sedgefield – he won it three times in total and had never fallen.

“He’d started at [trainer] Harry Bell’s, then went to Gordon Richards and he couldn’t get him right.

“Then Rubstic ended up with [trainer] John Leadbetter at Denham in the Borders.” And the rest is history.

Maurice was acting on good advice on the day. His father Tommy [who sadly passed away in 2017] had finished second in the 1962 Grand National on Hawick-trained Wyndburgh and told his son ‘just do better than I did’. He had asked his father whether he should walk round Aintree and have a look at the course, to which Tommy replied: “No. It’s straight forward!”

With thousands cheering as the horses approached ‘The Elbow’ many would have lost their concentration, but Maurice added: “Coming to the last, I thought ‘just come on lad’. After we were beaten in the Scottish National, we weren’t going to get beaten in this one.

“To be honest I don’t remember hearing any noise from the crowd. I just blocked everything out and went for the line.”

Trainer John Leadbetter, now 75 and living in Norham, near Berwick, still rides out and agreed with Maurice on the preparations for the race.

“We treated it as if it was another race day. The preparation was the same as normal. Why would you change it?” he said. “The minute you start chopping and changing, you risk upsetting the horse. Routine was paramount.

“I remember coming down to Dalston [near Carlisle] a couple of times with Rubstic. John Dixon was the first trainer to get an all-weather gallop and, up in the Borders, we had five feet of snow and ice. 1978 was a very bad winter and the all-weather gallop was great to get the horse in shape.

“I also took him down to Tommy Barnes, Maurice’s dad, to use his facilities.”

But what could John remember about the big day?

“I watched the race with [TV personality] Judith Chalmers. She was commentating for a Swedish radio station and was watching the race on a small screen. She said I could watch as long as I was quiet.

“But when Rubstic crossed the line I shouted out, ’**** I’ve just trained the National winner’. She glared at me, but we have been friends ever since. I promised her the first interview in the winner’s enclosure, and she got it.

“I was on another planet after that and it took about a week for it all to sink in. I keep seeing the coverage in the newspapers and on the TV and thought ‘it must be true’.”

John started his racing career with Middleham-based Harry Blackshaw before joining the Neville Crump stable in the same North Yorkshire village.

In 1980, defending the title, Rubstic, with Maurice in the saddle again, fell for the first time [at The Chair] in the slippery conditions. He finished sixth in the 1981 Grand National before retiring.

“Maurice was a very good jockey,” said John. “A good horseman. He rode some very difficult horses in his time and rode a lot for me.”

Maurice remains one of two Cumbrian jockeys to have won the National in living memory, the other being Neale Doughty who landed the great prize on Hallo Dandy in 1984.

Having won the big one as a jockey, what was the target now for Maurice and Anne?

“I think it would be nice to have a good one, a Class One or a Listed winner. But, as [trainer] Arthur Stephenson said, ‘little fish are sweet’, so why bother about the big ones,” said Maurice.

Finally, you couldn’t speak with people who had been there done it and worn the tee-shirt, without attempting to get a tip for tomorrow’s big race.

Maurice, who runs the Tarnside, Farlam stable alongside his wife Anne, has been training since 1989, and said: “Tiger Roll has improved since last year when he won the National. He recently ran a hurdle race and he cantered it. And then he ran a cross-country race and galloped home.

“His owner called him a ‘little rat of a thing’ he’s that small compared to other horses. I think he’s got to be in with a great chance of winning again.”

Whether you’re an expert on racing or prefer to stick to the old pin-stickers guide, the field is wide open for tomorrow’s spectacle which begins at 5.10pm.

Bookmakers estimate more than £300m will be gambled on the big race. Wouldn’t it be nice to get a little bit back tomorrow?

* Re-live the magic moment in 1979. Go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seM2xQmyIjM