The 1849 Grand National Steeplechase was the 11th official annual running of a handicap steeplechase horse race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool on Wednesday, 28 February. It attracted a field of twenty-four competitors for a prize valued at £825.
The race was won by Tom Cunningham on Finch Mason's Peter Simple, having also trained the horse himself. Cunningham wore Finch Mason's colours of green silks with salmon sleeves and pink cap. The horse won in a time of 10 minutes 56 seconds, seventeen seconds slower than the course record set two years earlier. For the second consecutive year there were three equine fatalities during the race, taking the number of fatalities in the history of the race to eight and leading to heavy criticism in the press.Illustrated London News: 10 March 1849 The owner was not the same Finch Mason who achieved fame painting racing scenes in the latter half of the 19th century.
Leading contenders Prince George was sent off as the 5/1 favourite as the mount of Tom Olliver who was also the most experienced rider in the race, being the only man to have taken part in every official National. However, his participation had been in doubt until the night prior to the race after suffering a heavy fall the previous day at Cheltenham Morning Herald {London} 28th February 1849 The duel winning rider was one of several to benefit from a false start, which was not recalled, the roars of encouragement from nearby spectators drowning out the calls of starter, Lord Sefton to recall the runners. The favourite remained prominent until the runners approached the racecourse for the final time where Olliver realised he had nothing left to offer, being nursed home a distant third to finish.
The Curate had been a long time pre race favourite in the betting rooms of Manchester where most pre race wagers were struck, having been beaten by just half a length in the previous year's race. With Tom Olliver's defection to the favourite it was Horatio Powell who took the ride in what proved to be his last of eleven rides in the race, including one regarded as unofficial, being sent off at 7/1. Powell had moved the horse into second place behind the runaway leader when stumbling over the third fence after the sunken lane on the second circuit and suffering a fatal fall. the vet having to be summoned to end the horse's pain when he was found to be badly injured. Grand National History 1840s
The Knight of Gwynne found popularity on the day of the race from those spectators with military affiliations as the horse was to be ridden by his owner, Captain Thomas D'Arcy, who was one of seven riders making his debut in the race. The Captain himself is believed to have placed sizable bets on his mount winning, being sent off at 8/1. It's unclear whether the horse managed to get away among those in the false start but at the start of the second circuit he had moved through the field to take position behind the eventual winner. A legend grew, and has been repeated in several later publications, that D'Arcy began shouting inducements to Cunningham as they raced up the final straight. However, given the noise in the stands, and the distance between the first, second and third riders in the closing stages, and the fact such a noteworthy story went completely unreported by the contemporary press, the story is more likely an urban legend born out of gossip generated after D'Arcy was disgraced and found guilty of betting fraud in 1851. His death in 1852 preventing any opportunity for him to ever debunk the tale.
Proceed was another mount of an owner and military Captain, William Peel who was taking his fifth ride in the race and had been thought to have had a share in the ownership of the previous year's winner of the race. Like D'Arcy, Peel gained great support from those in military circles and was also sent off at 8/1. Optimism was increased due to modifications made to the Sunken Lane where Peel and his mount had refused when previously racing at Aintree the previous Autumn. They were among those who were part of the false start and were well placed behind the leader at the Sunken Lane where Proceed repeated his action of a few months earlier and again refused. After several attempts to spur his mount, Peel had no choice but to turn around and return to the nearby stables.
Wolverhampton was owned by the 1840 winner rider, Bartholomew Bretherton who took the ride himself, making it his seventh, when unofficial pre 1839 Nationals are included. Bretherton was a local man from a well known family and as such found popular support on the course for his mount, who was sent off at 12/1 but was never involved at the business end of the race and was caught up in the melee at the second fence after the Sunken Lane. Bretherton never again took part in a National, though he remained a regular visitor to Aintree over the next quarter of a century.
The British Yeoman returned after finishing third in the previous year's race and was again partnered by Charles Bevill, taking his third and final ride in the National. The former flat racer, who had once been well fancied in the Epsom Derby was sent off at 12/1 and was still in contention as the runners entered the race course for the final time. However, he was quickly outpaced and Bevill pulled up at the final hurdle when beaten.
Alfred was the mount of 1847 winner Denny Wynne, who was having his fourth ride in the race and had already become the popular rider among Irish visitors to Aintree. Wynne had his mount well placed throughout but was unable to throw down a challenge in the last half mile and walked in a distant fourth.
Peter Simple was among the each way chances at 20/1 and won the race without ever being headed, going to the front at the head of those who broke with a false start.
The Course While the course was almost as it is today the fences to be jumped were mostly the natural hedges banks and ditches that they encountered along the route rather than the man made obstacles of the modern era. The land away from the main section of the racecourse, known today as the country during the National was indeed open countryside and was being farmed, resulting in the fields the horses ran across being either ploughed or grazing land, only the racecourse itself was laid to turf or contained man made obstacles.
Riders instructions when racing in the country were simply to stay outside a set of flags which had been placed on the inner ring of the course and while these aimed to direct the riders towards the jumps, such as Becher's Brook, Canal Turn and Valentine's Brook they did not necessarily have to jump the fences and could instead take a wider path along country lanes if they felt the route worthwhile, however by 1849 it was rare for any rider to gain an advantage by taking a route, which bypassed a fence.
As a result of the make up of the course and fences the Grand National of 1849 would have more resembled a fox hunt than a steeplechase to a modern observer while press reporters relayed the action in their newspapers as the runners crossing from field to field rather than from fence to fence.
A map of the course from 1848 shows that the start was at a location which today sits halfway between Melling Road and the first fence. Becher's Brook was the fifth fence the runners jumped before making taking two obstacles at the farthest end of the course, the second of which was a double hedge with rails and a small ditch. The ninety degree turn at the Canal, not yet formally named the Canal Turn was the eighth flight and was followed by Brook at the Canal side as fence nine. Three further fences were jumped alongside the Canal before the runners re-entered the racecourse from the countryside beyond, today known as Anchor Bridge crossing. Thus the runners had jumped twelve obstacles on the first circuit before turning towards the stands where they jumped the monument fence, today known as the chair, followed by the water jump, both of these fences had to be jumped.
The runners then crossed the lane again, jumping into and out of a sunken lane, which in previous years had caused several competitors to refuse, including almost half the field in 1848, despite the hedge into the lane having been almost removed the previous year. Further alterations were made this year as the lane was greatly filled in, the remaining hedge in front of it removed, and the formidable hedge out of it cut to half its previous size with two gaps placed in it. The lane would gradually be levelled to the course completely over the next few years.
The line of country run towards Becher's for the second time was slightly different from the first as the runners jumped the first fence of the second circuit some fifty metres away from where they would have met it first time around. As they continued towards Becher's they would meet each fence, which were little more than eighteen inch high earth banks, at a closer point to where they jumped on the first circuit until the two paths of the first and second circuits finally met at Becher's itself, this time being the twenty-first fence. The runners then followed the same path as first time round with the Canal Turn being fence twenty-four and Valentine's Brook being fence twenty-five. After crossing the lane back on to the race course, the runners once again deviated from the first circuit, this time having to continue out to the widest extreme so that the spectators in the many grandstands got a good view of the final half mile of the race along home straight.
Two hurdles were placed along the straight, being the thirty-first and thirty second obstacles. The winning post was about thirty metres beyond its present location at the very end of the straight.
The Race After criticism that last year's race had been allowed to go after a false start, starter, Lord Sefton, fearing a repeat, called the runners back from the start point to calm the jockeys down. A small number of riders ignored his instruction and when he lowered the flag, they got a clear false start. Sefton tried to recall the runners but only a small number heeded his instruction and when those left at the start set off in pursuit of the false starters, any hope of a recall was lost. Despite Sefton declaring a false start, there was never any question of the race being stopped or declared void, and with little official organisation, none of the connections of the competitors are recorded as having lodged any form of objection. Peter Simple was among those who benefitted most from the flying start and, having obtained the early lead, controlled the race throughout and was never headed.
Despite the chaotic start leaving many tail enders forced to set off at a sprinting pace, the first few fences, described as little more than 18 inch high banks, were negotiated without incident. At the fourth flight Kilfane was the first to exit the race, suffering a broken leg when Sparta crashed into him and was brought down.
Peter Simple opened up an increasingly long lead over Becher's Brook, Canal Turn and back over the Brook on the Canal side with Napoleon having made the greatest effort to close the gap before tiring rapidly on reaching the racecourse for the first time. Cunningham gave Peter Simple a breather on the racecourse, allowing his lead to be reduced to a mere few lengths by the time he cleared the Chair in front of the stands. Equinox, Chatham, Mulligan, Ballybar, Chandler, Proceed, Knight of Gwynne and Alfred completed the front rank with The Iron Duke missing, having been pulled up at the Canal side before entering the course.