My Colourful Life : From Red to Amber

Red Rum's classic win in the 1977 Grand National is the stuff of sporting legend. Rummy himself became a national treasure, and his charismatic trainer - the redoubtable Ginger McCain - became a sporting hero. While the public adored Ginger, there were those who sniped that he was a one-horse trainer. All that changed 27 years later when, in a thrilling race, Ginger won his fourth National with Amberleigh House, and once again took the sporting world by storm.











McCain is rightly known as Mr Aintree. In the 70s, the popularity of Red Rum and Ginger almost single-handedly saved the great race when there were plans afoot to turn the track into a housing estate, and his tally of four wins is equalled only by Fred Rimmer. Ginger's story is a remarkable one.











Ginger himself is a remarkable individual - charming, forthright, not afraid to speak his mind and a hugely entertaining storyteller. This is his story, told in his own inimitable style.