EXCITING LINE UP CONFIRMED FOR THIRD JOHN SMITH'S AINTREE LEGENDS CHARITY RACE

Michael and Richard Hills, Kevin Darley and George Duffield join last year's winner, Mick Kinane, in an elite group of classic winning flat jockeys taking on their jumping counterparts at Aintree.  Tony Dobbin also returns as 2011 champion for the John Smith's Legends Race on Grand National Day which looks to be another competitive affair with nearly 17,000 career victories between the 12 jockeys.  The race is run on the flat over 1m 5f as the first race on the John Smith's Grand National card with the previous two races raising over £160,000 for The Bob Champion Cancer Trust.

 

The full 2013 race line up is:

Marcus Armytage (1990, Mr Frisk)

Jim Culloty (2002, Bindaree)

Kevin Darley (British Flat Champion Jockey in 2000)

Hywel Davies (1985, Last Suspect)

Tony Dobbin (1997, Lord Gyllene) 

George Duffield (rode 2547 winners on the flat)

Jimmy Frost (1989, Little Polveir)

Michael Hills (won 1996 Derby on Shaamit)

Richard Hills (6-time Classic winning jockey)

Mick Kinane (13-time Irish Champion Jockey)

Carl Llewellyn (1992, Party Politics/1998, Earth Summit)       

Adrian Maguire (won 1024 races in UK)

Bob Champion leads the team of Ambassadors for the race which includes the likes of Jonjo O'Neill, Mick Fitzgerald, Peter Scudamore, Richard Pitman and Derek Thompson.

Bob Champion says: "The John Smith's Aintree Legends Race has now seen two great winners with Tony Dobbin in 2011 and Mick Kinane last year. Once again, we have a fantastic line up of both jumps and flat legends.  This day more than any other will always be special for me and I can't think of a more fitting way to celebrate my 1981 Grand National win or my triumph over cancer than with this race and raising much needed funds for The Bob Champion Cancer Trust.  I am truly grateful to Aintree and John Smith's for allowing it to happen."

Richard Hills says: "I have never been to Aintree before, let alone ridden there and I am very much looking forward to being part of such a terrific line up of jockeys and raising money for Bob's very worthy charity."

Adrian Maguire says: "Last year Mick Kinane sneaked a win for the flat boys so this year we shall be doing everything we can to return the trophy to its rightful home and one of us jumps boys!"

On the fund-raising front, each individual jockey can have a corporate sponsor and members of the public can sponsor the race or their favourite jockeys at www.bobchampion.org.uk , www.grandnationallegends.com and via Just Giving pages. The jockeys will all be posting online updates about their preparations for the race and there are additional events planned in the build up to the race - details will be listed at www.bobchampion.org.uk .

Karen Crowley, Senior Brand Manager at Heineken said: "The Legends race has been an important feature in our John Smith's Grand National plans for the last two years and we're delighted to see such an amazing line up of jockeys for this year's race. It's an exciting start to the day's action which raises money for a fabulous cause."