The 1860 Grand National
7-2 favourite "Anatis" won the 1860 Grand National, which was moving into it's 4th decade and by now was such a solid feature on the horse racing calendar, that virtually always as a minimum of 19 or 20 racers participated. This year the highly favoured 10 year-old trained by William Holman who also trained "Emigrant" to victory in 1856, was ridden by Tommy Pickernell, who during the race ignored an offer of a £1000 bribe from second place jockey on "Huntsman" to allow him through to victory.
The winning jockey, Tommy Pickernell raced under the name Mr. Thomas at the 1860 Grand National, something, which we have not uncovered a reason for. If anyone has any insight as to why the jockey chose this name to race under rather than his own please email us at info@The-Grand-National-2006.co.uk and help us solve this mystery.
The 1859 Grand National
"Jean Du Quesne" finished only second to "Half Caste" in 1859, as "Half Caste" the young 6 year old ridden by jockey Chris Green who became a part of a much smaller group of jockeys to win the race twice or more after he previously won in 1850 on what the history books used to record as the first two time winning horse in the Grand National, "Abd-El-Kader". For Chris Green who also trained "Half Caste" it was a very special day as he beat all others to win his 2nd National from 6 races in all on the 7-1 favoured horse.
The 1858 Grand National
The 1858 Grand National started with only 16 runners lining up on the 6th of March, a number which was the lowest for quite some time. Those who did race however only ended up trailing to "Little Charley" making his 4th appearance and beating his previous best of 5th in 1856. "Little Charley" started at 100-6 and was never really expected to be in the running, but under the guidance of the jockey who made his 8th appearance and had been runner up himself in 1854 shocked many others to become a part of the special group to have won the event.
The 1857 Grand National
The 1857 Grand National, which took place on The 4th of March, saw no less than 7 false starts before it finally got underway and was run under torrential rain. Eleven year-old "Emigrant" who had finished sixth the year before won after an unusual set of events. The horse ridden by Charlie Boyce, who was also the horse's trainer, rode with one arm strapped to his side after a hunting accident earlier on. As the pair were pushing on and trying to avoid the worse sections of the course, Charlie Boyce steered the horse towards the canal towpath by mistake missing out several fences and continuing on to victory.
The turn of events angered several stewards but nothing could be done at the time to alter the outcome of the race. Ever since 1857 Grand National though, all steeplechase fences have carried flags at both ends of the fences to ensure the jockeys stay on course and run the correct circuit.
The 1856 Grand National
The runner up a year earlier in 1855 "Freetrader" was back for another attempt in 1856 and surprisingly was a considered unfavourable by many starting as a 25-1 outsider. Those close to the horse and it's team weren't concerned by the long odds as the 7 year old horse improved by one position to win the 1856 Grand National. George Stevens a jockey who like last year's winner had only previously ridden in the event once at Aintree in 1852 and who had failed to complete the race the first time, came back for another attempt steering the "Freetrader" owned by Mr. W Barnett to victory almost twenty years since the first National back in 1836.
The 1855 Grand National
20 horses lined up for the 1855 Grand National, the same number as a year earlier, which at the time was lower than had been expected following numbers near the mid twenties and above in years earlier with a record of 32 just 5 years earlier in 1850. 1850 also saw this years winning jockey Mr. Hanlon return for his second race after failing to finish the first time riding "Wanderer" to victory as a 25-1 outsider. "Wanderer" may have been such an outsider due to it being the horses first time at the Grand National, that didn't faze the 10 year old though as he ran an impressive race, which for those who backed him would have been a memorable day.
The 1854 Grand National
The 1854 Grand National was won by the horse "Bourton", who began the race as 4-1 favourite, ridden by John Tasker on the 1st of March 1854. The 11 year old who by today's standards would be exceptionally heavy at 11-12 beat our 19 other starters to victory; the 19 starters would also by today's standards be a small field for a Grand National. "Bourton" trained by Mr. Wadlow and owned by William Moseley lived up to it's favourite tag while so many others have failed to produce to come through as a worth Grand National winner.
The 1853 Grand National
Running in his fifth Grand National in 1853 the now fifteen-year-old "Peter Simple" won his second National on March 2nd 1853. Ridden and trained by the popular Tom Olliver, who had won a decade earlier and was now champion for a 3rd time in fourteen attempts battled a well fought race which pleased owner Captain Joseph Little who himself had won the Grand National in 1848 on "Chandler". The runner up that same year was Tom Olliver.
The 1852 Grand National
"Abd-El-Kader" returned to race again but didn't manage to achieve a three-peat by winning the 1852 Grand National, he pulled up earlier during the race, which was won by "Miss Mowbray" an 8 year-old 10-1 bet. Chris Green the jockey who rode "Abd-El-Kader" to victory in 1850 again had to sit out the race with an injury, which also saw the winning jockey Tom Abbot, the rider who deputized in 1851 unavailable.
"La Gazza Ladra" started the race as 6-1 favourite who came in fifth place trailing "Chieftan" who finished in fourth while "Miss Mowbray" set another record for the quickest time around the course at 9 minutes and 58.5 seconds.
The 1851 Grand National
Setting a new record of 9 minutes and 59 seconds and winning for a second year in a row "Abd-El-Kader" the smallest horse ever to win the Grand National was rightly one of the favourites for the race. The fences weren't quite as demanding in 1851 something, which may have never seen "Abd-El-Kader" win the National in the modern day, but still it's a feat that has elevated the horse to a lofty status.
21 Horses lined up at the start, which was the smallest field for five years with Chris Green not returning to ride the winner. The history of the race over the next decade becomes sketchier after several newspapers covered the race less, some even no longer carrying any mention of the results. Even Irish interest dropped somewhat despite the fact that champion "Abd-El-Kader" who won by half a neck was trained in Ireland by owner Joe Osborne.
The 1850 Grand National
"Abd-El-Kader" won the 1850 and 1851 Grand National and is recognized as the first dual winner of the event due to the 1836 National's taking place, being questioned because of poor history records and general word of mouth passed down through the years. Owned by Mr. Joseph Osborne and ridden by first Chris Green and then Tom Abbot a year later "Abd-El-Kader" started at 100-3 and ran the race in 10 minutes and 20 seconds winning by a single length to claim the £1000 prize.
Last years winner "Peter Simple" finished fifth after being installed as favourite with 32 horses lining up to create a new record and see for the first time more than 29 starting. There was a huge turnout to watch the Grand National, which had just completed ten years of being hosted by Aintree, mainly due to the excellent weather conditions in the week leading up to February 27th 1850.
The 1849 Grand National
"Peter Simple" won his first of two Grand National titles in 1849, 5 years after he'd been installed as 3-1 favourite. His odds weren't so short this time around at 20-1 but anyone who backed him, would have been very happy they didn't lose faith for the 11 year old. Ridden and trained by Tom Cunningham who would have been pleased the forecasted snow held off allowing the 24 runners to compete with him leading the way.
"The Curate" ridden to second place last year fell first at the second fence requiring the vet to end his misery on a day that turned out to be full of early casualties.
The 1848 Grand National
With a field of 29 starters and Tom Olliver installed as 6-1 favourite the 1848 Grand National was firmly established on the sporting calendar. Although Olliver was again riding a different horse "The Curate", his huge fan base seemed intent on backing him, no matter which horse he rode. It wasn't much of a surprise then when he finished in second place to 12-1 bet "Chandler" making his debut in the National.
Tom Eskerit at his stables in Littleworth in Hednesford prepared "Chandler" for the 1848 Grand National. The horse had been given his name after he'd pulled a Chandlers cart at one time and the Captain as he was known, Joseph Little was both Jockey and Co Owner along with William Peel who was on "Mr. O'Higgin's Pioneer" in a race that saw 50-1 bet "British Yeoman" finish third.
The 1847 Grand National
In 1847 the big race at Aintree was finally given the title of "The Grand National Handicap Steeplechase" after the name had previously been used to describe the event but not officially. The race saw 28 runners participate, again a new record and almost double the amount from two years earlier, with Ireland also sending over the very popular "Mathew" causing a bit of controversy at the time. In the end that didn't seem to matter as "Mathew" won the race after also starting as favourite.
The race again saw Tom Olliver play a large part as he moved into the lead at the final hurdle while riding "St Leger" into first place, but the horse was tiring and "Mathew" had the energy to pass "Jerry", then catch up "Mathew" beating them in a hard fought close race by one length.
The 1846 Grand National
10 Years after the first Grand National the events popularity for the racers perspective was never better. With 22 runners lining up at the start, the most seen at the time and the first year over 20 competed on the big day at Aintree. 1846 was the last year the event didn't carry the name the Grand National, but with an original 25 runners planned to compete the event certainly started seeming more like the event it's become today.
What isn't common today however is the youthful age of the winning horse, "Pioneer" a six year-old riding in his first Grand National won as a huge 30-1 outsider while running on the largest field to date after the course was wrongly marked out increasing it in size to almost five miles, changing the fate of the winner to "Pioneer" the energetic youngster.
The 1845 Grand National
1845's Grand National was won by three debutants with William George Loft riding "Cure All" trained by Chris "Kitty" Crisp to victory as "Cure All" became the first horse to complete the course in under 11 minutes. The incredible speed achieved at the same may have been aided by the weather, there was a sharp overnight frost after an evening of heavy rain which left the ground at Aintree rock hard, following several complaints over whether the race should be run though it indeed went forward as planned a little later at 5pm with the 15-1 outsider beating out all the competition to victory.
"Vanguard" made a return after his 1843 victory with Tom Olliver again riding the horse that lead him to victory two years earlier, but the 4-1 favourite left the race when he pulled him up as the approached Becher's Brook for the second time.
The 1844 Grand National
For the third year in a row a horse making his debut won the Grand National. "Discount" the 5-1 favourite ridden by John Crickmere beating out 15 other runners and the winner of both the 1842 and 1843 Grand National Tom Olliver riding on "Wiverton". Winning horse "Discount" had actually been called "Magnum Bonum" but in a strange deal when he was sold to Mr. Quartermaine, he acquired the new name. Mr. Quartermaine then quickly sold "Discount" after the victory while the horse's value was at its peak.
The 1843 Grand National
Another year another win for a horse running for it's first time in the Grand National, "Vanguard" ridden by Tom Olliver who certainly was proving very good at leading horses to victory in their first National in a year that saw the race become a handicap for the first time with the event retaining it's handicap rule ever since. 1843 also saw the introduction of proper race cards for the spectators, cards, which listed all the runners complete with their colours.
Last years third placed horse "Peter Simple" started as a 3-1 favourite ridden by John Frisby, but he was beaten to the post by seven other racers all battling for the £535 jackpot and a place in history. Olliver and "Vanguard" won by three lengths from "Nimrod" after they had done well to come back after almost being carried out at the start of the second circuit.
"Vanguard" did return to participate in 1845 and was listed as being owned by Tom Olliver, who, it was believed, had been given the horse as a gift. The hide of the horse was also actually made into a sofa, which is now owned by Aintree.
The 1842 Grand National
7-1 Fourth favourite "Gaylad" ridden by Tom Olliver in the horses first Grand National which again saw little interest from runners who took place a year before when only one of the first four home "Peter Simple" under new ownership returned to compete again. The winner "Gaylad" was owned by John Elmore, who had also owned "Lottery" when he won the 1839 Grand National along with trainer George Dockeray who won for an impressive the third time in 1842 after also training "Lottery" three years ago and "Jerry" when he rode to victory in 1840. Tom Olliver finally won in his fourth Grand National and went on to become
was of the most famous riders in race history.
The 1841 Grand National
With none of the first four finishers returning in 1841 another outsider "Charity" at 14-1 reached the winning post first in a hard fought race just pulling away from "Cigar" to win by one length, becoming the first mare to win the Grand National. "Charity" completed the race in 13 minutes and 25 seconds, which by today's standards is very slow indeed, but owner Lord William Craven wouldn't have minded at all considering the only time "Charity" raced in the Grand National before 1841, he refused to jump a fence late on.
The 1840 Grand National
The horse which made the last 18 runners in 1839 but dropped out just before the race, managed to win as a 12-1 outsider in his Grand National debut in 1840. "Jerry" ridden by Bartholomew Bretherton ended up with a seemingly easy victory from what had been a hard fought race. The 1840 Grand National however is far more famous because of the events surrounding another horse "Valentine". Irish amateur Alan Power was so confident in his horse that he bet they would be ahead at the wall, well they set off at a fantastic pace and were ahead approaching the "Valentine" second brook before the horse reared up violently
and corkscrewing over in a style which drew everyone's attention and still reaching the other side. The event must have been an amazing display as the brook has been known as "Valentine's Brook" ever since.
The 1839 Grand National
The Grand National moved to Aintree for Tuesday February 26th 1839 with 17 runners being a large improvement over 1838. The race favourite "Lottery" the 9 year old running in the Grand National for the first time ridden by James Mason won at 5-1 in an event that was much better organized than years past and saw over 50 runners entering with 18 holding the pace dropping to 17 when "Jerry" withdrew between weighing out and the start. The race also saw the infamous Captain Martin Becher fall from his horse "Conrad" into the brook while leading the race, beginning the name Bechers Brook which still retains it's name today.
The 1838 Grand National
The 1938 Grand National was won by "Sir William" in a race that only saw 3 horses take the field, the smallest field ever to face a National starter. The final places saw "Sir William" rode by Alan McDonogh edge ahead of two time winner "The Duke" who finished third with "Scamp" in between in an event which didn't excite people beforehand, but if history proves accurate actually turned out to see an excellent finish with "Sir William" only taking the lead at the penultimate hurdle.
The 1837 Grand National
Won by "The Duke" in a year that many believe to mark the very first Grand National in a year that saw only 4 runners line up on March 4th 1837 in a race that was surprisingly packed with incidents that saw all four runners encounter problems before completing the course. "The Duke" ridden by Henry Potts did however manage to win, after spending the start of the race chasing "Dan O'Connell" and even refusing to jump on the 1st circuit while the other three horses sped on. With a win seeming unlikely "The Duke" did receive a stroke of luck as "Dan O'Connell" fell while battling with "The Disowned" and "Zanga"
bringing both down clearing the way for "The Duke" to catch up and with the 1837 Grand National.
The 1836 Grand National
While it is known that the first Aintree Grand National was in 1839 there is much debate surrounding the very first Grand National. Two distinct sources claim the first ever race took place in 1837 and 1836. The first winner in any case was "The Duke" with both the first two races being run in Maghull if sources are correct. This would mean "The Duke" who won in 1837 would have been the first dual winner and not "Abl-El-Kader" who won in 1850 and 1851. There most common reason the Grand National in 1836 seems to be overlooked today is due to the fact it wasn't called the Grand National at this time and not before
1847 was Grand National it's official name.
The book by John Pinfold, "Gallant Sport: The Authentic History of Liverpool Races and the Grand National" reveals a new version of the first few Grand National races, which differs to many other sources that we're wrote long after the event.
The book can be found here if you're interested in finding out more about the origins of the world's greatest steeplechase.
|
