The 1980 Grand National, run on heavy going on March 29, 1980, proved to be an attritional affair, in which just four of the 30 starters finished and came home at wide margin intervals. Indeed,the winning time, 10 minutes and 17.4 seconds, was the slowest since Quare Times won in a time of 10 minutes and 19.2 seconds, under similarly testing conditions, 25 years earlier.
As noted by BBC commentator Sir Peter O’Sullevan, the race produced a historic result, too, insofar as winning jockey Charlie Fenwick became just the second American amateur since World War II – after Tommy Smith, aboard Jay Trump, in 1965 – to win the Grand National. Fenwick rode Ben Nevis, whom he had previously trained and ridden to back-to-back victories in the Maryland Hunt Cup in 1977 and 1978, but who had subsequently been transferred to Tim Forster in Letcombe Bassett, near Wantage, Oxforshire.
On his first attempt in the Grand National, in 1979, Ben Nevis was sent off a well-fancied 14/1 chance, but was brought down, along with half a dozen rivals, at The Chair and, although remounted, was pulled up shortly afterwards. In 1980, as a 12-year-old, and still a maiden after 12 starts on British soil, he was sent off at 40/1, but avoided mishaps and eventually came home in splendid isolation, winning comfortably by 20 lengths. Rough And Tumble finished second, 10 lengths ahead of The Pilgarlic in third and a further 15 lengths ahead of Royal Stuart in fourth, and last, place.
Reflecting on the return of Ben Nevis to Letcombe Bassett the following morning, Fenwick said later, “There’s only two streets on the town, but it was crowded. He paraded through there. He loved it. It was all very special.” Ben Nevis was retired to the Maryland farm of his jockey, where he lived until he was 27 years old.