State of Play betters his fourth-place National finish of 2009 to finish third in 2010

By Peter Shuttleworth BBC Sport Wales at Aintree

While one Welsh horse begins his walk of fame to Hollywood, Welsh racing is on its own march - but not for superstardom, simply for respect.

Dream Alliance's epic fairytale of a nag born on an old Welsh slagheap that flirted with death to come back from pioneering stem-cell surgery to win last year's Welsh National captured the imagination of the public as well as the movie-makers ahead of this year's Grand National.

But 2010's Aintree showcase proves that Welsh horseracing is in its very own dreamland as Evan Williams and Nigel Twiston-Davies lead Wales' charge for National Hunt recognition.

Dream Alliance's remarkable rags to riches story has not just transcended the sport, but has been a PR masterstroke for Welsh racing catapulting it onto the map of the part-time tipster.

Full Replay - Don't Push It wins Grand National

"We're proud to have done our bit to raise the profile of Welsh racing," said Howard Davies, one of the owners of Dream Alliance who pulled up at the Canal Turn on Saturday.

However, Wales did not fail as the Williams-trained State of Play galloped into third behind Tony McCoy's mount Don't Push It and Black Apalachi.

Fellow Welshman Twiston-Davies - the Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning trainer - had the joint highest number of runners at the 163rd Grand National but just one of his five horses finished - although Hello Bud's fifth place was notable as Twiston-Davies' 17-year-old amateur son Sam was on board.

For years it was just Peter Bowen who was left to fly the Welsh flag alone but now the Pembrokeshire trainer is one of four Welshmen in the top 15 top handlers this season.

The list is dominated by West Country and Irish stables but the Welsh are on their way.

Twiston-Davies, Grand National winner in 1998 and 2002, and Williams, enjoying his best season since gaining his training licence in 2003, are in the top eight.

While Bowen, whose horse McKelvey was runner-up at the 2007 Grand National, and new kid on the block Tim Vaughan, who trains one of Manchester United striker Michael Owen's horses, are also doing their country proud - and have both earned more than £400,000 in prize money this season.

Dream Alliance (No 11) jumps The Chair hurdle at the 2010 National

"To use a football analogy, we're in the Premiership and are consistently there," said Williams, enjoying back-to-back top four places in the world's most famous race.

"We're not yo-yoing between divisions and occasionally getting to an FA Cup final.

"And we're not just surviving in the Premiership, we're consistently comfortably in the top half of the Premiership. We haven't won the European Cup yet but we will one day.

"We're on the brink of becoming ultra-successful. We are competing at Grade One level, we are coming to big festivals and having winners and people need to realise that.

"We're all very proud of what everybody has achieved in Welsh racing. It's on the up and held in great esteem on the national stage now and it is no longer a surprise when Welsh trainers do well.

"There is a great buzz about the whole Welsh scene and that has got to be good - and one of us will win a Grand National soon and it will be a proud day for Welsh racing.

"And make no mistake about it, Welsh racing is in the best shape it ever has been.

"People in Wales should embrace it and go to racing at Ffos Las, at Chepstow and to Bangor-on-Dee to get behind their local trainers, like they do their rugby and football teams, because we now go to big meetings at places like Aintree and Cheltenham and win big races."

Ffos Las near Llanelli was the first new racecourse in the UK for 80 years when it opened last year, showing the appetite for a day at the races in Wales.

West Wales trainers Alison Thorpe, Keith Goldsworthy and Rebecca Curtis are among the rising stars of the racing world.

While all-weather specialist David Evans - who looks after Chelsea footballer Frank Lampard's horse - led the flat trainers list early in the season before dropping off to fifth in the table once the big freeze thawed.

Christian Williams, who rode Royal Auclair to second at the 2005 Grand National, took a ride on Ellerslie George at Aintree's feature race on Saturday but failed in his bid to become the first Welshman to win the big race since Carl Llewellyn in 1998 as Williams was unseated at the 23rd fence.

Make no mistake about it, Welsh racing is in the best shape it ever has been Trainer Evan Williams

But his continual reappearance at the Grand National highlights the esteem in which Williams is held while fellow countryman Sam Thomas would have almost certainly graced the Aintree stage if the 2008 Gold Cup winning jockey was not available because of a cracked vertebrae.

Now Welsh teenage jockey Rhys Flint has been hailed as National Hunt racing's next big thing and the 17-year-old has even earned comparisons with the great Tony McCoy, the 14-times Champion jockey, who celebrated National victory on Don't Push It at Aintree on Saturday.

Flint is currently bidding to emulate McCoy and win the Conditional Jockeys Champion for rookie riders and is hoping to join Thomas and Williams in the big league.

"Wales should be proud of what it is currently achieving in horse racing," said former Welsh jockey Hywel Davies, who triumphed at the 1985 Grand National on Last Suspect.

"We're no longer second-class citizens in racing as Wales is pushing back the boundaries of the traditional boundaries of National Hunt racing strongholds.

"And it would not surprise me if in the next few years, Wales can boast a champion trainer as we certainly boast the potential and ability."

Twiston-Davies' yard may be in deepest Gloucestershire but the 52-year-old is a Welshman born in Crickhowell near Abergavenny while Williams' Vale of Glamorgan yard is just a few miles from Vaughan's new stable.

Both Williams and Vaughan have a background in point-to-point racing and that amateur horse racing tradition in Wales is now infiltrating the professional ranks.

"Hopefully both for potential Welsh jockeys and trainers, these success stories can breed future success," added BBC Wales pundit Davies.

Grand National - closing stages

And Williams gives his reasons why Welsh racing is presently in such good shape.

"There has always been a strong following of horse racing in Wales," said Williams.

"Every miner wanted to have a bet, every rugby club has a race night and a sweepstake for the Grand National. Racing is embedded in the Welsh culture and it is nice people with a point-to-point grounding have stepped up and are trying to mix it with the best of them.

"And Wales is the kind of place where you'd find two guys standing in a betting shop betting on two flies going up a wall.

"We're all ultra-competitive and the drive to compete at the biggest stage is in our make-up, we don't want to bumble along."

Williams concludes: "We're from Wales and proud of it.

"But we just want respect and want people to understand we're more than capable of doing a good job. Now it is not a surprise when the Welsh do well and we're all doing it week in and week out."

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