Grand National Ultimate History

 

1914

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The 3rd/19th was moved 50yds nearer to the 4th/20th. 1st/17th - 4' 6" H (was 4' 7"); 2nd/18th - 4' 7" H (4' 6"); 3rd/19th (OD) - fence 4' 10" H (5' 1"); 5th/21st - 4' 10" H (4' 11"); 6th/22nd (BB) - fence 4' 7" H (4' 6"); 12th/28th - fence 4' 7" H (4' 10"); 13th/29th - 4' 6" H (4' 7"); 15th (Chair, OD) - fence 5' 3" H (5' 1").

 

Fr 27 Mar 1914 (3.06) 4m 4f Good 9.58.80 20 £3,515 T. Tyler

  1 Sunloch 8 9-07 T. Tyler W.J. Smith 100/6   Away well. Took lead just before 3rd. 10L ahead BB 1C, 15L to the good entering straight, almost 20L clear WJ (where 12 remained) & extended advantage to 35L at one stage on the 2C. Still had a huge lead 26th & ABC. Not seriously threatened but swerved right & pecked last and finished tired.
11 13 2 Trianon 9 11-09   Charles Hawkins 100/8 8 Initially prominent but soon well held up. 12th at 2nd, 11th BB & VB 1C. Last but one, still in 11th, WJ. Left 10th again at 20th (still last but one), left 8th BB 2C. Headway and left 4th at 26th, same position ABC. Further progress to take closer order by 29th and took 2nd between last 2. Ran on well. Never nearer.
09 11 3 Lutteur 10 12-06 H. Escott A. Carter 10/1 8 Slowly away & held up towards rear. Last VB 1C, WJ, 20th & BB 2C. Modest progress and left 6th at 26th, same position ABC. Kept on fairly well, took 3rd after last. Never nearer.
11 12 4 Rory O'Moore 13 11-08 P. Whitaker P. Whitaker 20/1   Mid-division. Prominent by BB 1C where 3rd. Went 2nd VB 1C and same position WJ. 3rd at 20th, 4th BB 2C. Left 2nd again VB and made effort to catch clear leader. To no avail and faded from 29th, losing 2 places.
  5 Bahadur 11 9-12 G. Lambarde R. Hall 33/1   Mid-division. Chased leaders in 8th at 2nd & in 9th BB 1C. 8th again VB 1C & WJ. Progress to be 5th by 20th, 6th BB 2C. Left 5th once more at 26th, same position ABC. Merely able to plug on one-paced thereafter.
  6 Couvrefeu 10 11-07 F. Hunt J. Anthony 20/1   Away in mid-division. Prominent in 4th by 2nd. 7th BB 1C, 4th VB 1C & 5th WJ. Had dropped back to 6th by 20th but left 5th again BB 2C. Effort and left 3rd at 26th. Same position ABC. Thereafter weakened.
11 12 7 Great Cross 9 11-00 P. Whitaker O. Anthony 50/1   Initially chased leaders, 10th at 2nd & VB 1C, 9th WJ. 7th at 20th & BB 2C. Left 7th (last but one) at 26th. Plodded on.
12 13 8 Covertcoat 8 12-07 B. Gore P. Woodland 7/1F   Prominent to start but soon becalmed in mid-division. 11th at 2nd, 10th BB 1C, 9th VB 1C, 10th again WJ. Jumped well but unable to make any impression 2C, 8th at 20th, 9th once more BB. Left 8th & last at 26th and ultimately eased to a canter.
  F Another Delight(1) 10 11-07 F. Withington G. Brown 33/1 26TH Away well. 9th at 2nd, 6th BB 1C, 3rd VB 1C. Had dropped back to 6th by WJ and faded further early 2C to be 9th at 20th. Rallied quite rapidly, however, and 3rd BB 2C, albeit in a group some distance adrift of the 2nd. Left a distant 2nd VB, fell next.
13 F Thowl Pin 9 10-10 Cpt R. Collis I. Morgan 33/1 25TH (VB) Prominent. 5th at 2nd & 3rd. 8th BB 1C and 7th VB 1C. Headway to be 3rd at WJ, 2nd by 20th. A clear 2nd BB 2C. Same position but still some way off leader when fell VB 2C.
10 12 13 RO Bloodstone 12 11-07 F. Hartigan F. Lyall 100/6 22ND (BB) Best away, led 1st & 2nd. 3rd at 3rd, 5th BB & VB 1C. 4th WJ and at 20th. Similar position when ran out BB 2C.
13 F Blow Pipe 9 10-03 S. Armitage Bryan Bletsoe 25/1 20TH Away well & prominent in 6th at 3rd. Had dropped to 7th by WJ where pecked. Similar position when fell 20th.
  RO Diplomatist 9 9-07 H. Ussher N. Davis 50/1 CS 1C Slowly away & always towards rear until ran out CS 1C.
  P Jacobus 7 11-02 F. Hartigan E. Piggott 100/6 10TH Very prominent, 2nd at 2nd & 3rd. Same position, 10L behind leader, BB 1C. Had begun to lose ground when blundered badly 10th, stirrup leather broke & immediately PU.
12 13 F Ballyhackle 11 12-00 H. Ussher H. Ussher 100/7 10TH Mid-division, 13th at 2nd. Towards rear when fell 10th.
10 11 12 13 R Fetlar's Pride 13 10-02   D. Dale 50/1 9TH (VB) Mid-division, 12th BB 1C. Similar position when refused VB 1C.
12 13 F Regent 9 10-12 A. Hastings J. Tyrrwhitt-Drake 33/1 9TH (VB) Mid to rear until appeared to break down shortly before falling at VB 1C.
  F Ilston 6 10-12 A. Hastings I. Anthony 10/1 8TH (CT) Fore of mid-division initially. Progress to be 7th at 2nd & 3rd. 4th BB 1C. Going well in similar postion when misjudged leap & landed on top of fence CT 1C.
  U All Gold 10 10-07 H. Trimble Cpt H. Stokes 50/1 6TH (BB) Mid to rear until mistake & UR BB 1C.
  F Dutch Pennant 8 10-05 J. Cowap A. Parnham 50/1 6TH (BB) Mid to rear until fell BB 1C.

 

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN

The 3rd fence was moved from being rather too close to the 2nd to a spot more equidistant between the latter and the 4th for the 1914 Grand National, a race, amazingly, in which there were no fallers until first Becher's. The minimum weight reverted to 9st 7lb, as carried by Sunloch who was piloted enterprisingly by William J. Smith (often known as Bill) to fully exploit his mount's feather load. The Cheltenham-based man, who would be Champion Jockey for 1914/15, rode very long and got Sunloch into a lovely jumping rhythm on behalf of the horse's owner/trainer Thomas Tyler, a sporting farmer. Sunloch, who won only one more race due to wind problems, was almost certainly given too much rope. Whilst Rory O'Moore and Couvrefeu paid for making an effort to catch the leader along the canal side on the second circuit and it can be argued that the weight concession to Sunloch was simply too much for any horse on the day, the extreme hold up tactics employed on Lutteur and Trianon were immediately rued in the after race post-mortem by their respective jockeys, Alec Carter, who would be killed in the Great War just nine months later, and Charles Hawkins whose steed finished full of running. Moreover, the victor's time was a poor one for the weight he carried on the going. The Good ground cannot be blamed for Covertcoat's flop, the race must've revealed the infirmity that shortly led to his early retirement.

At the weights in the 1914 National Lutteur came out 3 (pounds/lengths) superior to Trianon and 25 better than Sunloch. As stated above, the latter's winning time was poor. The best comparison (and the one most favourable to Sunloch) is with the most recent previous renewal on Good in 1907 won by Eremon whom I awarded a raw rating of -61. Both races were run at a good clip and Sunloch's time was 11.60s slower whilst carrying 8lb less. Employing a formula of 2 1/2 lengths per second and allowing Sunloch, who finished tired, 7 for the stiffer jumping test produces a result of -90. Time being only a partial guide, however, I note that Covertcoat (rated -42 last year) was conceding three stone to Sunloch so I will give the latter all benefit of doubt and rate his performance -84. Lutteur and especially Trianon, who finished full of running, could have received more judicious rides and, therefore, deserve to be marked up by 5 and 8 respectively which places them both at -54. This set of figures is entirely plausible because Lutteur, rated -40 when triumphant in 1909, is unlikely to have been quite the horse he was five years on and, furthermore, he had been stopped in his work just before the race.

 

HOOFNOTES

> Another Delight may have fallen at the 27th rather than the 26th.

> Bloodstone may have refused at BB 2C as opposed to running out.

> Blow Pipe may have fallen at the 19th not the 20th.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright 2017 by Chris Dowling