TONY McCOY’S Grand National frustrations continue. When Butler’s Cabin fell at Becher’s Brook on the second circuit yesterday, the multiple champion jockey was left with a big-race record that now reads no wins from 13 attempts.

Butler’s Cabin, whom McCoy chose to partner from his boss JP McManus’s four runners, had been travelling comfortably behind the leaders until he knuckled over on landing. The jockey felt Butler’s Cabin, winner of the Irish National last year, had the greatest potential to win a Grand National, and with one of the spurned horses being the eventual second, King Johns Castle, his reasoning may have been misplaced.

McCoy’s best National efforts remain his third places with Blowing Wind in 2001 and 2002 and Clan Royal in 2006. A man so driven to win will not be satisfied until that is a wrong put right.

By contrast, Tony Dobbin knows what it is to savour National success, having ridden Lord Gyllene to win the 1997 running of the race that had been postponed to the Monday after a bomb alert.

On the eve of the race 35-year-old Dobbin, the seventh most successful jump jockey of all time with almost 1,200 winners, announced that he will retire this week.

There was to be no romantic departure for the Ulsterman, who pulled up on Point Barrow before setting out for the second circuit. A year ago Point Barrow had fallen at the first fence when he was one of the co-favourites. “He didn’t like it,” Dobbin said. “He had a fall in the race last year and I think he was thinking about that. He was being really careful at his jumps. He was just never travelling.

“It’s a bit annoying being my last National, but there you go. I’ve won and at least they can’t take that away, but it’s the one race I would have liked to have won again.”

Dobbin, given a guard of honour by his colleagues as he stepped out to receive a presentation to mark his retirement, will have his final rides at Carlisle on Thursday.

“I have been thinking about retiring for a while,” he said. “It hasn’t come as a shock to me. I’m still loving my riding and I’m still riding well, but we’ve had quite a quiet year.

“Rose Davidson, my girlfriend, is going into training for the 2009 season and I did intend riding on until then but the more I’ve been thinking about it over the last couple of months the more I decided to go and work for a few trainers for the next year.

“Aintree has been so lucky for me.

I absolutely adore this place. From a personal point of view, there’s just no comparison to Cheltenham. It’s different class here. I’ve ridden five winners over the National fences and many over the Mildmay track.”

Despite his love of the course, Dobbin was not tempted to bow out there yesterday.

“I’m going to keep riding until Carlisle on Thursday because I’ve lived there for 20 years,” he explained. “Some family and friends are coming so that’s where I’m going to finish.”