GRAND National winner Red Marauder was the star of the show at the recent Northern Rock North East Sports awards.

The Aintree hero, winner of the performance of the year award, attended the event with jockey Richard Guest and assistant trainer Michael Woods.

The horse, trained by Norman Mason, is the first animal to win recognition at the awards, now in their tenth year.

Richard Guest said he was delighted that Red Marauder had received recognition and added: "There are so many people behind the scenes who have worked tirelessly to produce a world class performance from a home-grown thoroughbred and this recognises their immense achievements in doing this."

Judith Rasmussen, regional director at Sport England, said: "It's the first time we have ever presented the award to an animal, but Red Marauder's performance at the Grand National was outstanding and has had huge support from the public.

"It was a very memorable sight seeing the horse arrive on stage and receive a standing ovation.