| Pos | Horse | Age | SP | Jockey | Trainer | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Numbersixvalverde | 10 | 11/1 | Niall Madden | Martin Brassil | Bernard Carroll |
| 2 | Hedgehunter | 10 | 5/1F | Ruby Walsh | Willie Mullins | Trevor Hemmings |
| 3 | Clan Royal | 10 | 5/1F | A. P. McCoy | Jonjo O’Neill | J. P. McManus |
| 4 | Nil Desperandum | 10 | 33/1 | Conor O’Dwyer | Tony Martin | Luke Comer |
| 5 | Risk Accessor | 11 | 66/1 | Mick Fitzgerald | Michael Hourigan | John P. McManus |
| 6 | Forest Gunner | 12 | 50/1 | Peter Buchanan | Richard Ford | R. Ford |
| 7 | Innox | 9 | 100/1 | Robert Thornton | Francois Doumen | Marquesa de Moratalla |
| 8 | Garvivonnian | 11 | 100/1 | Paddy Brennan | Michael Hourigan | John Duggan |
| 9 | Joes Edge | 9 | 16/1 | Graham Lee | Ferdy Murphy | John Wade |
Grand National 2006 Result
The 2006 Grand National, run on good going on April 8, 2006, was notable for the high number of non-finishers, 31, the most since 2001, when 32 of the 40 runners came to grief and another four were pulled up in the wettest National ever. The 2005 winner, Hedgehunter, was understandably well-fancied, despite being 12lb higher in the weights, after finishing a never-nearer second, beaten just 2½ lengths, in the Cheltenham Gold Cup on his previous start. So, too, was Clan Royal, who finished second in 2004 and was six lengths clear when carried out by a loose horse at Becher’s Brook on the second circuit in 2005.
In fact, Hedgehunter and Clan Royale were sent off 5/1 joint-favourites but, while both ran creditably, but neither could keep tabs on Numbersixvalverde in the closing stages. Trained by Martin Brassil in County Kildare and ridden by Niall Madden, Numbersixvalverde had won the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse in 2005 and, although winless since and 12lb higher in the weights at Aintree, he was still in the first half a dozen in the betting at 11/1. His market position proved well justified, too, as he tracked the leaders, going well, for much of the second circuit, outjumped Hedgehunter at the final fence and stayed on strongly to win by six lengths.
Numbersixvalverde thus provided Niall ‘Slippers’ Madden with a Grand National winner at his first attempt. Madden, who retired on New Year’s Eve 2020, with nearly 400 winners to his name, said at the time, “Winning the Grand National aboard Numbersixvalverde was obviously the major highlight…”