The SW was banished for good, in its stead a flight of hurdles returned (adjacent to the Distance Judge's chair).
(Liverpool & National) We 28 Feb 1844 (3.02) 4m 3f Heavy 13.58.00 16 £535 S. Quartermaine
| 1 | Discount | 6 | 10-12 | S. Quartermaine | J. Crickmere | 5/1JF | Away well & prominent throughout. 3rd VB 1C & WJ (where 15 remained). Took 2nd Sunken Lane, 3rd again after VB 2C. A close 5th ABC, travelling well. Swooped into lead well before last and came away easily. | ||
| 42 43 | 2 | The Returned | 10 | 12-00 | W. Scott | 15/1 | 20 | Led until rider took a pull just before BB 1C. Tracked leaders until after ABC 1C, moved up to be 4th WJ and same position Sunken Lane. 2nd ABC 2C. No answer when winner swooped by well before last (and temporarily dropped to 3rd) but kept on very one-paced to overhaul a tired Tom Tug and regain 2nd. | |
| 3 | Tom Tug | 8 | 10-07 | H. Rackley | NQ | 1 | Away well. Refused 1st, kept going. Pulled hard & went into the lead just before BB 1C. Extended advantage VB 1C. Ahead WJ & Sunken Lane. Pushed on again after VB 2C. Horse & rider began to tire badly after ABC. No answer when winner swooped by well before last and eventually overhauled for 2nd. | ||
| 4 | Caesar | 8 | 11-10 | P. Barker | NQ | Initially towards rear. Headway to be 6th Sunken Lane. Did not sustain progress and never a threat but ran on past beaten horses after ABC 2C to finish a bad 4th. | |||
| 5 | Lather | 11-02 | T. Ball | NQ | Fairly prominent. 5th WJ. 4th ABC 2C, not without a chance, but quickly faded. Finished badly lame. | ||||
| 43 | 6 | The Romp | 9 | 10-07 | L. Byrne | 25/1 | Away well, 2nd at 4th and very prominent next (BB 1C). 4th VB 1C and moved back up to be 2nd WJ where mistake & nearly UR. 5th Sunken Lane, never offered a serious threat 2C, and gradually faded further. | ||
| 7 | Marengo(1) | 10-10 | B. Bretherton | B. Bretherton | 5/1JF | Away well. 5th VB 1C. Chased leaders WJ, 7th Sunken Lane. Steady headway 2C and 2nd after VB. 3rd ABC, seemingly travelling well with every chance. However, did not respond to urgings fairly soon after that point and ultimately eased to a walk. | |||
| 8 | Little Peter | 10-12 | H. Hollingshead | H. Hollingshead | NQ | Always towards rear. Tailed off by WJ. Lumbered on to finish well tailed off. | |||
| 9 | Louis Phillippe | 6 | 11-00 | J. Powell | 20/1 | Away well. 2nd VB 1C. Only mid-division WJ and continued to lose ground 2C, finishing well tailed off. | |||
| 41 42 43 | P | Peter Simple(grey) | 10 | 12-12 | J. Frisby | NQ | AFT ABC 2C | Chased leaders, 6th VB 1C. Fell at TTJ, quickly remounted and recovered lost ground to regain 6th WJ. Further headway to become 3rd Sunken Lane. Began to fade towards end of CS 2C as effort told & PU after ABC. | |
| P | Wiverton | 6 | 12-04 | T. Olliver | 8/1 | AFT ABC 2C | Always towards rear and beaten by CT 2C. PU after ABC. | ||
| P | Heslington | 6 | 12-00 | W. McDonough | 8/1 | AFT ABC 2C | Refused at 3rd. Kept going and recovered into mid-division before the end of 1C. Fell 2 fences before BB 2C. Remounted, tailed off. PU after ABC. | ||
| 43 | P | Nimrod | 9 | 10-10 | A. McDonough | 14/1 | AFT ABC 2C | Not travel well and always towards rear. Fell somewhere on 1C. Remounted, tailed off. PU after ABC 2C. | |
| 39 41 | P | Charity | 14 | 10-07 | W. Vevers | H. Powell | 13/1 | AFT ABC 2C | Fore of mid-division when fell WJ. Remounted, towards rear. Gamely attempted to recover lost ground but beaten by CT 2C. Tailed off and PU after ABC. |
| 43 | P | Teetotum | 7 | 10-07 | W. Kennedy | V. Sharkey | NQ | AFT ABC 2C | Mid to rear. No impression. Beaten by CS 2C. Tailed off and PU after ABC. |
| R | Robinson | 9 | 12-07 | J. Parker | NQ | BB 1C | Towards rear. Tried to refuse 3rd & 4th, succeeded next (BB 1C). |
RAIN NO DRAG FOR CRICKMERE
The ground was atrocious in 1844 and the race run at a slow pace in heavy rain. Most horses finished distressed and only the powerful Discount, who had recently impressed some good judges at Hereford, relished the going, putting up a splendid performance for a 6-y-o entire and reversing the bad luck John Crickmere had on Dragsman in 1843. Discount was useless on the Flat and could barely be given away hence his new name (having formerly been Magnum Bonum). His owner/trainer, Samuel Quartermaine, was an Oxford horse dealer. Discount did not run in another Grand National or indeed much again at all and does not appear to have made any significant mark as a stallion. A line through The Returned's run in 1842 (-50 at best) leaves Discount well short of my Scroll Of Merit. Strictly at the weights in 1844 Discount emerged 4 (pounds/lengths) superior and even allowing him 10 for winning so handsomely only earns him a rating of -36. The jockey on The Returned William Harvey Scott (like Allen McDonough before him) finished as runner-up for the second consecutive year. Tom Tug lived up to his name, overpowering his rider who, to be fair, was carrying an injury; the recalcitrant Robinson was a chase debutant! Tragically, Crickmere would die of consumption in 1846 at the age of just 24. On a lighter note, despite the weather the National continued to prove popular and successful.