In years to come, the record books will show that the 2007 Grand National was won by Irish-trained Silver Birch, who sprang an upset at long odds of 33/1 and got home by three parts of a length. The casual reader will no doubt shake his head and smile: yet another outsider posting a win in the world`s most famous race. Indeed, that is the great paradox of the Grand National, that upsets are actually fully expected, and surprise results are not really a surprise due to the unique circumstances under which the race is run - 40 runners, 30 fences and a marathon 7200m trip. Anything can happen and the long history of the race is littered with any number of bizarre anecdotes.

However, a closer look will reveal that this year`s National was not quite the upset it appears to be. The winner was by no means a no-hoper and his odds did not do justice to his true ability. In fact, in terms of past achievement and sheer talent, Silver Birch was one of the best horses in the field and his victory must rank as one of the most satisfying in the annals of the National.

The road to glory at Liverpool`s Aintree racecourse was not a straightforward one, pockmarked as it was by a catalogue of disappointments and frustrations and along the way, the ten-year-old gelding had to overcome a series of obstacles, many of them more testing than the daunting National fences. It is fair to say that Silver Birch`s victory on Saturday was more than two years in the making.

The story really began in November 2004, when Silver Birch, then trained by champion conditioner Paul Nicholls, won the Becher Chase over 5400m, a race which is considered an important pointer to the Grand National as it is run over the same course and involves the same fences. At this stage, he was still relatively lightly raced with only ten runs under his belt and it is unusual for such an inexperienced horse to be spoken of as a Grand National contender. A month later, he won the Welsh Grand National over 6000m and in the wake of this performance was priced up one of the ante-post favourites for the 2005 Grand National.

Unfortunately, he never made it to to Aintree, as he was diagnosed with heat in his leg a few weeks before the big race and he was effectively laid off for the whole of 2005.

Silver Birch made a most promising return to racing in January 2006, running fourth in a competitive hurdle handicap and raising hopes that he could pick up the thread of his Grand National dream. However, he then lost his way with two inexplicably poor runs and when it came to the National itself, he fell midway through the race.

That seemed the final confirmation that, as with so many top horses before him, Silver Birch had failed to overcome his injury problems and he looked destined for the big-race scrapheap. Not surprisingly, his connections decided to accept an offer for him and Silver Birch was sold to 26-year-old Brian Walsh who put him into training with another youngster, Gordon Elliott who is just three years his senior. Elliott only started training last year and somewhat bizarrely, he has yet to win a race in his native Ireland! (The Grand National was only fourth winner of his short career, and his three previous victories were all achieved when raiding in England).

Silver Birch was considered past his prime for serious steeplechasing and he was bought with a view to participating in the lower, mostly amateur ranks of cross-country and point-to-point racing.

He had his first run for his new connections in December and then showed steady improvement in his next two starts, which prompted Elliott to take him to this year`s Cheltenham Festival where he ran a good second in a cross country event over 6200m. While that run showed that Silver Birch still retained some semblance of enthusiasm for racing, the opposition was not really strong enough for him to be considered for this year`s National, although Elliott and owner Walsh were both very bullish going into the race itself.

It is perfectly understandable that Silver Birch was written off by many on Saturday, as he did not have any top-level recent form to recommend him. Those who maintained their faith in him were, however, rewarded in unforgettable fashion.

Silver Birch, brilliantly ridden by Robbie Power, travelled smoothly in the first ten throughout the race, saving ground towards the inside and generally keeping out of trouble. He was jumping beautifully, with both precision and economy of effort, right from the early stages and Power allowed him to settle into a comfortable rhythm, rather than getting involved with those battling for the lead.

Between the last two fences, he had moved into second place behind Slim Pickings and as they jumped the final obstacles, he was sent about his business, pinching a lead of a length or two. As the runners veered off the jumping course onto the famous Elbow, and set off on the final furlong run down the home straight, he looked to be travelling strongly, but McKelvey came with a storming run down the outside and the gallant Slim Pickings came back for one final thrust. It looked for all the world as if McKelvey would catch Silver Birch and indeed, he would probably have done so in a few more strides, but Silver Birch, displaying incredible courage under pressure, just refused to buckle and he stuck his neck out stubbornly to register a famous victory.

McKelvey emerged from the race with the utmost credit as he was found to have broken down afterwards and his trainer will justifiably feel that this cost him the race.

Such is the nature of the Grand National that winning isn`t everything and every horse who completes the race gets to share in the glory - and quite rightly so. One of the most heart-warming moments came after the race when reading the comments of amateur jockey Sam Waley-Cohen who rode the gallant mare Liberthine. She enjoyed a share of the lead for a while and although her stamina eventually gave out, she plodded on to get home fifth of the twelve finishers. Her rider was effusive in praising her courage and was clearly grateful that she had given him the experience of a lifetime. Such is the magic of the National.

Getting back to the winner, the most thrilling aspect of his victory was surely the fact that he managed to defy the old adage, "they don`t come back". There is a long and depressing list of horses who failed to fulfil their potential due to injury and only a tiny minority have managed to battle their way back to the top. Silver Birch seemed to have missed his Grand National chance two years ago and  it is brilliant for the sport to witness a top horse getting a second chance and grabbing it with both hooves.

It may have happened later than expected but ultimately, Silver Birch`s triumph must be remembered and celebrated as a glorious tale of destiny fulfilled.-Mark Anthony