Last time out against Ben Tackie, Hatton hardly put a punch wrong. Last night he admitted he found it difficult to adjust his technique in the early rounds against Pedersen’s stiff, upright style. With a creditable record of 42 wins in 44 fights – although he has been relatively inactive in the last two years – the 29-year-old Pedersen was no Danish patsy, but he did have a somewhat soft centre with a porous defence.Hatton explored this ruthlessly, yet while there may not have been too much menace from Dennis there was plenty of spirit He came to fight not to fold. Hatton may have been having trouble with bruised ribs in training but it was the Dane’s ribs which needed medical attention after breathtaking punches which left him winded and distressed. He did well to survive until the sixth, when a right uppercut buckled his knees and the referee, Dave Parris, wisely decided that he had suffered enough.Hatton, now unbeaten in 35 bouts had trained for a taller, rangier opponent than the man from Kolding where they call him Dennis the Menace. Pedersen, a former European super-featherweight champion had never stepped into the same ring as Hatton at light-welterweight and the tremendous reception Hatton received must have been unnerving.But not as unnerving as the thudding borderline body shots which twice dropped him for counts of nine in the fourth round. It doesn’t seem to matter who he meets – as long as their hero gives them a good hiding.

“I could box Mr Bean and they would still turn up and watch me,” he says. Ricky Hatton’s multitude of vociferous fans can hardly be accused of being fickle. He beat the horses around him and then suddenly one comes from the pack, but that’s what it’s all about Grand Nationals change from the last to the line. It’s a long way from the Elbow to the finish.”BIG RACE DETAILS1 Amberleigh House G Lee 16-12 Clan Royal L Cooper 10-1 co fav3 Lord Atterbury M Bradburne 40-14 Monty’s Pass B J Geraghty 20-1Winning trainer: D McCainWinning owner: Halewood InternationalWinning distances: 3 lengths, 2 lengthsCo-favourites: Bindaree, Clan Royal, Joss Naylor, Jurancon.

Hedgehunter, who led the field for most of the race, lay ominously still after coming down at the final fence but the gelding was simply exhausted by his exertions.”I never thought I was going to win another National,” a tearful McCain said “Amberleigh House was foot-perfect. He’s a professional – the best thing that’s happened to me for a long, long time The credit for this goes to my son, Donald. He lives for the horse and rides him in all his work.”Lee, taking part in only his second Grand National but prominent in the sport for riding the horses of the multi-millionaire newcomer to the turf Graham Wylie, racing’s version of Roman Abramovich, said: “When he [Amberleigh House] stops going around here I’m not going to take any more rides He was just so tough. Monty’s Pass, the National winner last year when Amberleigh House finished third, stayed on honourably into fourth, 29 lengths back, under a much greater weight.Although only 11 of the 39 starters – Tyneandthyneagain was a late withdrawal – completed the course, there were no fatalities or serious injuries reported. Their No 1 hope, the Tony McCoy-ridden Jurancon II, had got no further than the fourth fence.