3rd/19th (OD) - fence 4' 5" H (was 4' 9"); 5th/21st - 4' 9" H (4' 10").
Fr 22 Mar 1907 (3.03) 4m 4f Good 9.47.20 23 £2,400 S. Howard
| 1 | Eremon | 7 | 10-01 | T. Coulthwaite | A. Newey | 8/1 | Away well & immediately led at a good pace. Stirrup leather broke 2nd, headed and dropped to 4th. Ridden on one iron and jumped a little sideways, regained lead 4th. Joined 7th until left about 10L clear 11th. Repeatedly bothered by a loose horse (Rathvale, who was undeterred by being struck over head with whip) and pressed from ABC 1C but left clear again WJ. Shot further away from pursuers after BB 2C and 20L ahead CS. Probably tiring (and still attracted the attentions of Rathvale) but unchallenged and able to be eased to a canter late on. | ||
| 2 | Tom West | 8 | 9-12 | B. Bletsoe | H. Murphy | 100/6 | 6 | Away well & chased leaders, 8th at 3rd. 10th at 7th, 7th shortly after 11th and 4th (of 15) WJ. Increasingly handy amongst pursuers 2C and 3rd early CS 2C. Soon took 2nd athough 20L behind. Kept on gamely without troubling winner. | |
| 03 04 | 3 | Patlander | 11 | 10-07 | J. Cowap | J. Lynn | 50/1 | DIST | Tubed. Mid-division CT 1C. 6th shortly after 11th and further progress to be 2nd WJ and early CS 2C. 3rd when bad mistake 28th and dropped to 5th, 40+L behind leader. Rallied and just prevailed in tussle for a bad 3rd. |
| 4 | Ravenscliffe | 9 | 10-09 | R. Robson | F. Lyall | 100/7 | NK | Mid-division but chased leaders until became prominent, 4th at 4th. 8th at 7th, 5th shortly after 11th and up to 3rd WJ. Hampered by loose horse (Rathvale) circa BB 2C & dropped to 6th. Left 4th CT where rider lost an iron. 40L 3rd ABC. Plugged on and just shaded out in tussle for a bad 3rd. | |
| 5 | Barabbas | 6 | 10-07 | Cpt B. Dewhurst | D. Morgan | 20/1 | Mid-division. 11th shortly after 11th. Headway to be 6th WJ. 7th just after BB 2C, left 5th CT. 4th towards end of CS, 40+L adrift of leader and no more to give. Finished slightly lame. | ||
| 05 06 | 6 | Ascetic's Silver | 10 | 12-07 | A. Hastings | A. Hastings | 7/1JF | Mid-division but chased leaders until became prominent, 7th at 3rd, 5th at 4th. Badly hampered by loose horse and dreadful blunder CT 1C. Towards rear 11th. Rear of mid-division when further hampered by a loose horse (The Foreman), forced into ditch at the Chair and lost 150yds. Tailed off WJ. Worked way back into rear of midfield just after BB 2C but tailed off again by mid CS. Finished 20L behind the 5th. | |
| 05 06 | 7R | Buckaway | 9 | 10-04 | J. Rogers | H. Aylin | 40/1 | Chased leaders, 9th at 2nd. Had dropped to a rear of mid-division 13th by end of CS 1C. Towards rear WJ. Had made merely modest headway 2C when fell 26th. Remounted, well tailed off. | |
| 05 | 8 | Napper Tandy | 10 | 10-13 | Sir C. Nugent | Cpt R. Collis | 33/1 | Mid-division, rear of same WJ. Renewed effort early 2C but had dropped back to rear of midfield by just after BB. Became tailed off CS. Toiled on, finished completely tailed off. | |
| 06 | F | Red Lad | 7 | 11-03 | J. Cannon | J. Dillon | 7/1JF | 24TH (CT) | Chased leaders until became very prominent, 3rd at 2nd, 2nd at 4th. 3rd again, 6L behind leading pair, at 7th. 4th shortly after 11th. Not fluent and dropped back to 7th WJ. Rallied and 5th just after BB 2C. 4th when fell CT 2C. |
| B | Bouchal Ogue | 11 | 10-07 | F. Barratt | C. Graham | 50/1 | 24TH (CT) | Left 15L at start. Progress into mid-division, 9th at 7th, 10th shortly after 11th, 9th again WJ. Further headway early 2C to be more prominent in chasing group, 4th just after BB. 5th when BD by Red Lad CT. | |
| B | Loop Head | 6 | 9-12 | Lt Col F. Lort-Phillips | A. Hogan | 50/1 | 24TH (CT) | Away smartly but soon settled in rear of mid-division. 12th shortly after 11th, 11th WJ. Little real progress when BD by Red Lad CT 2C. | |
| 02 03 04 05 | F | Detail | 11 | 10-00 | W. Whitehead snr | W. Payne | 40/1 | 23RD | Mid-division but chased leaders until became prominent, 4th, 6L behind leading pair, at 7th. Thereafter lost position and towards rear WJ. Had made little impression 2C when fell 23rd. |
| F | York | 8 | 10-06 | J. Brewer | T. Moran | 50/1 | 22ND (BB) | Chased leaders. 8th at 2nd, 6th at 3rd, 7th at 7th. Became more prominent, 3rd shortly after 11th. 5th WJ. In similar position, still going well, when fell BB 2C. | |
| 06 | P | Roman Law | 9 | 11-07 | T. Coulthwaite | A. Anthony | 50/1 | 22ND (BB) | Away well & very prominent, 2nd at 2nd, 3rd at 3rd. Less handy in 6th at 7th and had dropped to 9th shortly after 11th. 8th WJ. Faded further and becoming hopelessly tailed off when PU BB 2C. |
| P | Seisdon Prince | 8 | 11-00 | T. Coulthwaite | M. Phelan | 50/1 | 18TH | Mid to rear. Gradual progress to be 8th shortly after the 11th. A mid-division 10th WJ. Faded quite rapidly and PU 18th. | |
| F | Extravagance | 6 | 10-11 | W. Woodland | G. Goswell | 10/1 | 16TH (WJ) | Prominent, 5th at 2nd, 3rd & 7th. 2nd shortly after the 11th and joined issue with leader/eventual winner from after ABC until hampered by a loose horse (Rathvale) & fell WJ. | |
| F | The Foreman | 8 | 9-07 | T. Coulthwaite | E. Lawn | 50/1 | 13TH | Always towards rear. Fell 13th. | |
| 05 06 | F | Timothy Titus | 9 | 11-10 | E. Morgan | C. Kelly | 100/8 | 11TH (OD) | Away well. Took lead 2nd. Headed 4th where 3rd. Disputed lead from 7th, pair clear, until fell 11th. |
| F | Teddie | 9 | 9-13 | L. Digby | P. O'Brien-Butler | 50/1 | 8TH (CT) | Chased leaders, 7th at 2nd, 6th at 4th. Had dropped into mid-division when fell CT 1C. | |
| R | Centre Board | 7 | 10-11 | Maj C. Beatty | J. Cain | 20/1 | 8TH (CT) | Chased leaders until became prominent, 6th at 2nd, 4th at 3rd. Had lost position when refused CT 1C. | |
| 01 02 03 06 | F | Drumcree | 13 | 11-09 | Sir C. Nugent | W. Bulteel | 20/1 | 8TH (CT) | Slowly away, last by 3rd and still towards rear when broke down just before falling at CT 1C. |
| U | Rathvale | 6 | 10-13 | A. Hastings | E. Driscoll | 20/1 | 3RD (OD) | Away well but settled in mid-division. Unshipped jockey 3rd. (Became rather a nuisance loose, seriously interfering with Eremon, Extravagance, Ravenscliffe & others.) | |
| F | Kilts | 7 | 10-03 | G. Gunter | R. Harper | 100/6 | 1ST | Away well & prominent, fell 1st. Broke neck. Dead. |
RATHVALE'S DAY IN THE COUNTRY!
There was yet another record attendance, upwards of 120,000 by all accounts, however, those who gathered for the 1907 Grand National were presented with a very modest field. This is best exemplified by Drumcree having to lug 11st 9lb despite being well past his best, Timothy Titus being raised almost a stone from 1906 (only to fall along the canal side for the third consecutive renewal) and last year's winner, Ascetic's Silver, being 26lb higher! Two extreme lightweights finished well clear of the rest, Eremon achieving merely a typical Good ground time despite his generously low impost. In fairness, Eremon had potential to build upon his performance because he had been unraced only fifteen months earlier and ten days after his National triumph would impressively take his fourth race in a span of just 24 days. Sadly he suffered a fatal injury on the gallops a few weeks later. It was as well, then, that Alf Newey was able to help his mount negotiate 28 fences while riding on one iron and spending much of the time successfully fending off the loose Rathvale. The latter, ironically, did manage to cause Extravagance to capsize at the Water when that horse, the last to seriously challenge Eremon in the contest, was vying for the lead. Not content with himself, Rathvale also impeded Ravenscliffe and others whilst maintaining his attraction for the winner. It was a truly notable victory for Eremon's pilot, Newey was an ex-miner who had not ridden a horse until he was eighteen, and for his trainer who also hailed from a non-horsey background. In fact, Tom Coulthwaite had been thrown the one time he'd sat on said type of ungulate! Coulthwaite, a man able to turn his hand to many things if remaining upon his own 'hooves', was more accustomed to coaching two-footed athletes, however, he brilliantly applied his stamina building techniques to become a master trainer of horses. Tom was shrewd, could get one ready and Eremon was the first of what would be three Grand National winners for him.
Coulthwaite's breakthrough success clearly owed a deal to the gameness of both horse and rider in overcoming problems, however, when it's considered that Eremon and Newey were able to go twenty lengths clear at one stage it's hard to think the difficulties encountered affected Eremon's performance very much. We must also take into account the element of general athletic improvement produced and present by virtue of Tom's training technique - the run style of Eremon in the 1907 National indicates a new level of fitness had been found - when comparing the winning time with those of recent renewals also run at a fast pace on Good. Bearing all the above in mind, I looked in particular at the times/weights from 1899, 1901 and 1905 and came up with a range of -57 to -65 for Eremon. In the absence of any meaningful collateral form, I settled upon the average of -61 as a raw figure and I will allow Eremon 6 (pounds/lengths) for ease of victory and his trials and tribulations for a final rating of -55. Strictly at the weights in the 1907 Grand National Tom West came out 9 inferior and, therefore, will be awarded -70.