RACING/Report from Fairyhouse: It's not often a jockey describes winning the Powers Gold Label Irish Grand National as "weird", but then not many jockeys have been in the position Ruby Walsh found himself on board Numbersixvalverde in the Easter Monday feature.

Walsh drove the Martin Brassil-trained stayer to a dramatic, three-quarter length success from Jack High, but any weirdness was understandable considering the runner-up is trained by the jockey's father, Ted.

Five years previously it was all much more straightforward as father and son combined to score with Commanche Court, but yesterday there was a maelstrom of emotions in the winners' enclosure that swirled with even more than the usual ferocity.

"It's a weird position to be in, taking it off Jack High, but Martin and my Dad have been friends for a long time and Martin asked me to ride a long time ago. It's just the way it has ended up," said Walsh Jnr.

It was the same for Walsh Snr, who declared: "There are very mixed emotions. You think you are going to win another Irish National and then you realise the danger is ridden by your son and trained by one of your best friends."

The National completed a double on the day for the rider who put in a huge effort to put up only 1lb overweight on the winner at 10.1. Walsh's usual riding weight is 10.5.

The sacrifices didn't end there, as the winner's owner, the Ennis property developer Bernard Carroll, wasn't even at Fairyhouse having booked a holiday at his holiday home in Portugal before Christmas.

Numbersixvalverde's name comes from the address of Carroll's house in Quinta Do Lago on the Algarve.

"He didn't want to change things in case it ruined his luck," explained Brassil, who was winning the National with his first runner.

"I can't believe it. I couldn't see myself winning the race," added the trainer, who runs one of the smaller operations on the Curragh having spent most of his career with fewer than 15 horses at any one time.

Numbersixvalverde completed the dream, however, and became just the sixth horse to complete the Thyestes-Irish National double. The last horse to do it was Brown Lad 29 years previously.

It could have been different, however, as Numbersixvalverde escaped being brought down by Native Sessions' fatal fall on the first circuit, and then had to recover from a mistake at the fourth last.

At that stage the pace-forcing Kymandjen was still at the forefront of affairs and being challenged by Coolnahilla, with Jack High and Marcus Du Berlais launching their challenges on the outside.

The 8 to 1 favourite What Odds, whose owner, Mike Futter, stood to win over half a million in bets, had raced keenly for much of the race and was beaten in the straight, and at the last Jack High looked the most likely winner.

"He's run a blinder but he hung a bit to the left after the last and it made a difference," said Jack High's rider Garrett Cotter.

It was only a length and a half further back to Marcus Du Berlais, who was runner-up in 2004, with the outsider Howaya Pet back in fourth.

Numbersixvalverde used the marathon trip to best effect, however, and under a typical Walsh drive managed to get his head in front on the run in.

"This has been a good race for novices but he didn't jump like a novice. Apart from missing the fourth last he was brilliant," said the jockey.

Brassil, a former amateur rider who abandoned an early career in hotel management that included a spell working in the Shelbourne Hotel, added that Numbersixvalverde is probably finished for this season.

"Unless the ground comes up testing at Punchestown I think he is finished and we will put him out to grass.

"He has done us proud this season and deserves a holiday," he said.

A course record €2,068,268 was bet with the bookmakers at Fairyhouse yesterday, and that included €346,443 on the Grand National.

Last year's bookmaker figure was just over €1.6 million.

But the crowd of 16,600 was down 1,400 on the corresponding day last year.

The day's Tote turnover was marginally down from €685,341 to €651,324.