Fr 25 Mar 1892 (3.56) 4m 4f Good 9.48.20 25 £1,680 G. Wilson
| 1 | Father O'Flynn | 7 | 10-05 | Gordon Wilson | Cpt R. Owen | 20/1 | Chased leaders, 8th at 3rd. Prominent from VB 1C where 5th. 7th ABC, 6th (of 24) WJ. 4th BB 2C, 6th once more CT and left 4th again at 27th. A very close 2nd at ABC and took lead before 29th where confirmed advantage. Driven well away. Easily. | ||
| 91 | 2 | Cloister | 8 | 12-03 | A. Yates | J. Dormer | 11/2F | 20 | Away well. Disputed lead 1st & 2nd, 2nd at 3rd. Vied for lead again VB 1C, 2nd once more ABC. Took brief outright lead Chair but joined from WJ until back ahead alone early 2C. Joined briefly BB but led CT. Headed 26th, however, left in lead next. Narrow advantage ABC. Headed conclusively before 29th and no chance with winner after it. Slightly eased run in then had to be urged to hold 2nd. |
| 90 91 | 3 | Ilex | 8 | 12-07 | William Nightingall | A. Nightingall | 20/1 | 2 | Rear of mid-division until collided with Partisan 3rd & dropped towards rear. A rear of midfield 16th WJ. Steady headway to be 7th BB 2C. 5th CT and left 5th again at 27th. A close 4th ABC. 3rd at 29th. Unable to go with winner after. Kept on gamely despite finishing lame. |
| 4 | Ardcarn | 5 | 10-10 | H. Linde | T. Kavanagh | 10/1 | Quite slowly away & initially rear of mid-division. Gradual headway to be 6th VB 1C. 8th ABC, chased leaders in 9th WJ. Renewed progress to be 5th BB 2C, 4th CT and left 3rd at 27th. Close up in same position ABC. Had dropped back to 4th by 29th. Faded further and finished a moderate 4th. | ||
| 5 | Flying Column | 7 | 10-07 | H. Beasley | W. Beasley | 50/1 | Away quite well. Disputed lead 1st & 2nd, led alone by 3rd. Joined VB 1C, led outright again ABC. 2nd Chair but vied for lead once more WJ. Headed early 2C, however, briefly disputed lead for final time BB. 2nd CT, 3rd at 26th, left 2nd again next. Came under pressure and began to fade, a beaten 5th ABC. Further weakened thereafter and finished tailed off. | ||
| 6 | Hollington | 6 | 10-09 | J. Cannon | G. Williamson | 100/9 | Mid-division 1C, 11th WJ. Headway to be 6th BB 2C, 7th CT. Began to fade before ABC, where a beaten 6th, and finished tailed off. | ||
| 91 | 7 | Cruiser | 7 | 11-07 | T. Gordon | W. Cullen | 25/1 | Mid-division until effort to chase leaders in 8th WJ but made a very bad mistake there and never a factor afterwards. Fore of rear-division BB 2C, a beaten 7th ABC and finished tailed off. | |
| 8 | Reliance | 10 | 10-08 | J. Cheney | 200/1 | Mid-division until improved to be chasing leaders in 10th WJ. Little impact 2C: fore of rear-division BB, a beaten 8th ABC and finished tailed off. | |||
| 9 | Ulysses | 8 | 10-10 | S. Harding | G. Milne | 50/1 | Initially mid-division but towards rear WJ and remained in rear-division 2C. Finished well tailed off. | ||
| 10 | Faust | 7 | 10-05 | T. Fitton | T. Lushington | 100/1 | Initially mid-division but more towards rear in 17th WJ. Further declined 2C and finished well tailed off. | ||
| 11 | Bagman | 10 | 10-07 | J. Walley | F. Hassall | 200/1 | Quite slowly away, rear of mid-division. Towards rear by WJ. Faded further 2C and finished well tailed off. | ||
| 12 | Southam | 13 | 10-07 | A. Yates | B. Dollery | 50/1 | Away quite well but forced by lack of pace to race in mid-division, 15th WJ. Lost place before CT 2C and could only lumber on to finish completely tailed off. | ||
| 13 | Lord Arthur | 9 | 10-07 | W. Moore | Cpt S. Lee-Barber | 25/1 | Quite slowly away but chased leaders in 6th at 3rd. 5th ABC and 3rd WJ. Soon began to fade 2C, in rear-division and beaten by BB. Ultimately became completely tailed off. | ||
| 14 | Lord Of The Glen | 7 | 11-00 | R. Driscoll | C. Waller | 33/1 | Mid-division 1st. Headway after ABC 1C and chased leaders in 7th WJ. Faded to be fore of rear-division BB 2C. Weakened further early CS and continued to do so until became completely tailed off. | ||
| 90 91 | 15 | Brunswick | 8 | 10-02 | J. Redding | W. Levison | 100/1 | Away well but soon becalmed in mid-division. Towards rear by WJ. Faded further 2C, ultimately eased to a walk and finished utterly tailed off. | |
| 16 | The Primate | 6 | 10-13 | J. Jones | Cpt P. Bewicke | 100/14 | Away well & disputed lead 1st & 2nd. Generally 3rd from 3rd to ABC, 5th WJ. Began to fade quite rapidly from 18th and position became hopeless. Ultimately eased to a walk and finished utterly tailed off. | ||
| F | The Midshipmite | 6 | 11-06 | A. Yates | F. Atkinson | 25/1 | 27TH (OD) | Away well. Chased leaders in 7th at 3rd. 4th ABC & WJ. Disputed lead briefly BB 2C. 3rd CT but pulled way into outright lead 26th, seemingly full of running. Narrow advantage when fell next. | |
| F | Nap | 7 | 10-07 | E. Woodland | H. Woodland | 200/1 | 24TH (CT) | Away well & immediately led. Headed after Melling Road, 4th over 1st and generally held that position until CS 1C. Began to lose place before ABC, 14th WJ. Dropped towards rear 2C and toiling when fell CT. | |
| RO | Paul Pry | 6 | 10-12 | J. Adams | T. Adams | 200/1 | 23RD | Slowly away. Last but one at 3rd and soon well behind, tailed off by WJ. Rider persisted until horse ran out on the approach to the 23rd, scattering spectators. | |
| F | Jason | 8 | 10-12 | T. Cannon jnr | G. Mawson | 100/8 | 22ND (BB) | Away well & fairly prominent briefly until outpaced and soon raced in mid-division, 13th WJ. Further back when fell BB 2C. | |
| F | Meldrum | 7 | 10-12 | T. Green | J. Latham | 100/1 | 22ND (BB) | Initially mid-division. Towards rear WJ. No sign of progress when fell BB 2C. | |
| F | Rollesby | 7 | 10-05 | P. Vincent-Turner | H. Brown | 50/1 | 22ND (BB) | Slowly away, dwelt 1st and rearmost until beyond 4th. Tailed off by WJ. Lumbered on until fell BB 2C. | |
| F | Tenby | 9 | 11-02 | W. Clack | C. Gregor | 100/7 | 18TH | Away quite well. Chased leaders in 5th at 3rd and continued to do so for most of 1C despite not jumping well, 6th ABC. Had dropped to a mid-division 12th WJ. Similar position when fell heavily 18th. | |
| RO | Billee Taylor | 11 | 10-03 | J. Jones | H. Beasley | 25/1 | MELLING ROAD 2C | Away well but soon anonymous in mid-division and had dropped to rear of same by WJ. Bolted & ran out circa Melling Road 2C. | |
| F | Partisan | 6 | 11-01 | J. Gatland | A. Barker | 40/1 | 3RD (OD) | Initially mid-division. Rear of same when collided with Ilex & fell 3rd. |
FATHER EMERGES FROM MISTY CLOISTER
There was a huge crowd, possibly the largest yet, in attendance for the 1892 Grand National but, alas, in common with the fate of the populous gathering of 1884, viewing was ruined by a heavy mist. Folk, therefore, couldn't see much of a perfect ride by Captain Roddy Owen which was in stark contrast to his tactically inept effort aboard Cloister in 1891 when he may also have been responsible for Why Not's fall, one that ended Charlie Cunningham's career. This year Owen vanquished his former partner having chosen the in form and lowly weighted Father O'Flynn from six possible mounts available to him. While Cloister took main responsibility for setting an exceptionally fast pace, certainly quicker than that of last year, Owen sat exactly the right distance off of his erstwhile steed before pouncing. The pace, which explains the useful winning time, was such that a lot of horses never really got into the race and many of those who were able to even try to live with it were spit out unceremoniously at various stages of the contest: Flying Column, The Primate, Lord Arthur, Nap and arguably Hollington, Lord Of The Glen and Jason too. It is to Cloister's credit that he kept on as well as he did, my theory is that, although improving, he was less suited by the Good going of 1892 than that of the previous year and went just a bit too fast on it, however, Cloister at least had a good dress rehearsal for the 1893 National when the surface would resemble a road! In contradistinction, I reckon Ilex preferred the less jarring ground this year to last's Good to Firm and undoubtedly he produced his best performance in a Grand National, especially considering he was virtually running on three legs and would never race again. When recovered he would enjoy hunting with Arthur Nightingall. The Midshipmite was not unfortunate, evidence from 1893 strongly indicates he wouldn't have stayed, particularly having pulled so hard. The 21 runners in 1891 had boasted 21 previous National appearances among them whereas the field of 25 in 1892 could count merely six (though the race produced a new record number of finishers). One of the debutants, Father O'Flynn was small but had good confirmation and had been hard raced since a 2-y-o. He was now in the care of Aussie born Melton Mowbray owner/trainer Gordon Wilson. The latter's fellow military man Owen was a charmer, having finally achieved the racing ambition he had so forcefully pursued he quit the sport to return to active service overseas where he died from cholera in 1896.
Strictly at the weights in the 1892 National Ilex emerged 2 (pounds/lengths) superior to Cloister and 8 better than Father O'Flynn. However, as a by-product of endeavouring to rate each horse's effort, all worthy of upgrade, these figures will become slightly adjusted. I believe Cloister is the horse around whom to base calculations. He was awarded -25 in 1891 and was improving but probably preferred quicker ground and went a little too fast for Good, therefore, I don't feel he strictly reproduced last year's performance and am thinking -29. However, Cloister was eased on the run in before having to be shaken up to retain 2nd so I'm inclined to give him 4 for -25 again. Ilex received -38 on Soft in 1890 and clearly produced better here. He was strictly 2 better than Cloister which would mean -27, however, he finished very lame and spent some time in plaster. The recent previous winners Come Away (1891) and Seaman (1882) broke down similarly and were uprated 7 and 6 respectively, Ilex didn't win but is deserving of 6 for -21. As discussed in 1890, Nightingall reckoned Ilex was the best of the three Grand National winners he rode but I beg to differ, Why Not (-24 in 1889) was currently still affected by his heavy fall, however, he would return! Father O'Flynn came out strictly 6 inferior to Cloister which would translate to -35 but won so easily, in a handy time, that he merits 5 more for -30.