The Grand National is arguably the world’s most famous race and has a habit of throwing up a fairytale story from Bob Champion’s victory after recovering from cancer to last year and champion jockey Tony McCoy ending his jinx in the race on a horse trained by another former cancer sufferer, Jonjo O’Neill.

This year’s renewal at Aintree on April 9 has the potential of delivering a similar tear-jerking story with two of those involved having battled through different misfortunes.

Jockey Daryl Jacob and trainer Jimmy Moffatt are hardly household names but in What A Friend – part-owned by Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson – and Chief Dan George respectively they have live chances of at last alleviating some of the grief and pain they have experienced.

Jacob lost his best friend and jockey Kieran Kelly in August 2003 when his fellow Irishman died from injuries suffered in a fall and his tragic death is never far from the 26-year-old rider’s thoughts.

“I think about Kieran every day of the week and have his photo in my bedroom and another in my car, so he is with me wherever I go,” Jacob said.

Jacob, who also saw one of his early retainers Robert Alner suffer terrible injuries in a car crash, at one point, though, couldn’t even use Kelly’s death as an inspiration and was all but ready to return to Ireland from England and learn the building trade.

However, a Grade One win at Irish racecourse Leopardstown on one of Alner’s horses, The Listener, in 2006 changed his mindset completely and further success has come since.

“Not many people get the privilege in life to be in the position that I am in. I love the job of riding horses. I’d probably end up riding for free because I adore horses so much.”

Moffatt’s misery occurred more recently when a blood infection at the turn of the year nearly cost the 38-year-old former jockey his life.

“I couldn’t eat or sleep and my heart was racing. I was in a mess. When I finally called the doctor, he told me I was within a day or two of real trouble,” Moffatt said.

Now, though, pretty much back to his former healthy self, Moffatt envisages Chief Dan George delivering a boyhood dream of having a National runner.

“This is the first time I’ve had anything to do with the National. He’s an intelligent horse and he won’t do that again (his last start he fell at Cheltenham),” Moffatt said.