No Fairytale Ending For Ginger

Grand National legend Ginger McCain had to settle for second with his last runner before handing over to his son Donald junior at Towcester last night.

?Mr Red Rum' saddled 4-5 favourite Calomeria in the closing Crimestoppers Handicap Hurdle but the five-year-old mare had no answer to the charge of Najca De Thaix (6-1) after the last and was two and a half lengths in arrears at the line.

'We're having our best season but truthfully, it is down to Donald. We've got a better class of horse, which makes a big difference ? and I think the boy's customer approach is better than mine!' McCain told At The Races.

'He's a grand lad and he'll make a far better trainer than his father, that's for sure.

'I'll still be very much involved, just like I am now, general odd jobs man. It's a way of life. I'd love to own a National runner now, or breed one. That's an ambition. I've got a number of broodmares and so we'll go along those lines.

'It's been a grand run over a lot of years. I think to be fair I had a preference for it when we had a beaten up old horsebox and one or two broken down horses ? there was more fun in the game then.

'It's all a bit competitive now, so it's time old men like me opted out.'

McCain junior will have his first runners today.

'There are a couple of things to tidy up but it's a very similar situation to David Pipe and his father, and what the Licensing Committee have agreed is that he can take over the licence from Ginger but that he has to do the modules he hasn't done by the end of January 2007, if he doesn't the licence will be taken away,' said Horseracing Regulatory Authority spokesman Paul Struthers.

'But he's committed to doing those and the Licensing Committee felt it was appropriate to hand the licence over.'

? PA Sport