FOR the love of his Rummy, tears of sorrow streamed down Billy Ellison's face ... and splashed down on to his old pal's grave.

As chilling November winds swept across Aintree racecourse on the second day of the Beecher's Meet, Red Rum's grief-stricken former stable lad stood alone clutching a symbolic wrapped red rose.

And with the spirit of the world's greatest racehorse still thundering in his heart, he bowed his head and sobbed: "My lovely, lovely lad, I miss you so much."

A fortnight ago, we told you about Billy's plight.

In a pained letter to the Editor - which also contained a completed entry form for our super Win A Great Day At The Races competition - Billy said: "As I've led Red Rum into the winning enclosure a near 20 times, I wondered if I could help or be of assistance to you on the day of the Aintree Beecher's Meeting.

"I am putting my entry into the hat in the hope I might win because it would be nice to visit his grave again.

"To be honest, I am on Income Support through racing injuries."

So, the Citizen acquired extra tickets and jumped at the chance to help Billy relive his memories of the legendary racehorse he loved so much by taking him out for a day at the races.

At 11am, on the morning of the Aintree Beecher's Meet, we picked Billy up from his South Shore home.

Smartly dressed in a pin-striped suit and camel overcoat, an excited and emotional Billy said: "You really have made my day, thank-you. I'm so looking forward to visiting Rummy again."

During the journey to Liverpool Billy confessed: "I've been studying the form of today's runners, and thanks to the Citizen giving me twenty quid I can have a bet!

But first of all I'm going to ask my old pal if he agrees with me on who to back."

After walking across the course to pay homage to Red Rum, Billy's visit didn't go unnoticed.

As we entered a beer tent to buy him a pint to toast the memory of his beloved four-legged legend, the resident Irish band gave out a surprise announcement and said: "We believe we are honoured by the presence of a well-known stable lad, so let's have it folks by raising your glasses to Billy Ellison and Red Rum!"

And what a perfect finish to a perfect day for Billy (and the Citizen for that matter) as his chosen horse - Into The Red - romped home past the Aintree winning post - the final resting place of Grand National great Red Rum.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.