It was back-to-back Grand National wins for The Colonel in 1870, winning the race for the second consecutive year. The same jockey and trainer were responsible for both wins, and it led the horse to stardom at the time.
With plenty more weight on his back, this was a much tougher assignment for The Colonel, and the finish was tight. However, he was awarded the race by a neck, much to the delight of punters. After winning a year earlier, he was strongly fancied and sent off as the 4/1 favourite on the day.
He encountered a completely different test to the year before, which was run on soft ground, this time around, it was quick officially described as good to firm.
The horse would return a year after this in a bid for what would have been a historic third consecutive win in the race. However, he would only manage to finish 6th in the 1871 contest, with even more weight on his back, eventually proving to be enough to slow him down.
The winning trainer was R. Roberts, and The Colonel was the only horse who would ever run in the Grand National for him. He was his handler for all three runs in the race, but no other horse would ever feature in the Grand National and be trained by Roberts.
The same certainly cannot be said about the winning jockey, George Stevens. He was a Grand National hero during his time and has to go down as one of the best Grand National jockeys ever to live.
A career spanning over 20 years saw him win the Grand National a total of five times, and this success on The Colonel was the last of those. He would have his first Grand National success in 1856 when Freetrader won the contest, in between, he would win the race again in 1863, 1864 and, of course, 1869 on The Colonel 12 months before this.
He would have a total of 15 rides in the race and complete 11 of them. He was a master at getting around this course and the test it provided. Of those completions, he would never finish below 8th, and alongside the five wins he recorded, he would also have one placed runner.
Sadly, just a year after winning this contest, George Stevens would die, suffering a fractured skull from a riding incident. It happened while he was at home riding one of his own horses and not on the course. At just 37 years old at the time of the accident, there was every chance that his riding career could have continued further, which could have brought even more success.
Despite that, Stevens is always going to be in the history books for his Grand National record, which was nothing short of fantastic. With five race wins to his name, he is a man that will always be mentioned when people are looking at the history of the race, and comparing past winners.
The final aspect of the 1870 Grand National to note is something that happened before the race started. With Aintree Racecourse looking to grow the race and gain more publicity for it, they invited an athlete, Tom Scott, to go onto the course before the start.
He would jump around the entire course without a horse and complete the two-mile trip while at the same time tackling the obstacles that stood in front of him. From banks to natural hedges, the course was set out very differently to modern times, making this an incredibly tough course to navigate, with or without a horse.
Results
| Result | Horse | Starting Price | Age | Handicap | Prize Money | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Colonel | 4/1 | 7 | 11-12 | £1465 | George Stevens | R Roberts |
| 2 | The Doctor | 5/1 | 9 | 11-7 | - | George Holman | William Holman Snr |
| 3 | Primrose | 10/1 | 6 | 10-12 | - | William Brockton | William Brockton |
| 4 | Surney | 20/1 | 8 | 10-4 | - | Robert I’Anson Jr | John Nightingall |
| 5 | Keystone | 200/1 | 9 | 10-12 | - | Robert Walker | Robert Walker |
| 6 | Gardener | 20/1 | 8 | 10-12 | - | T Ryan | G Bloss |
| 7 | Q.C. | 100/7 | 6 | 10-10 | - | Arthur Yates | H May |
| 8 | Alcibiade | 33/1 | 10 | 10-12 | - | Capt L Harford | C Cornell |
| 9 | Scarrington | 200/1 | 7 | 10-12 | - | John Wheeler | T Cranshaw |
| 10 | Moose | Unknown | 10 | 11-7 | - | Alfred French | A Cowley |
| 11 | Karslake | 50/1 | 6 | 10-00 | - | Capt Arthur Tempest | W Saunders |
| 12 | Guy Of Warwick | 100/6 | 6 | 10-8 | - | George Ede | Edwin Weever |
| 13 | Pearl Diver | 100/6 | 10 | 12-7 | - | Johnny Page | A Cowley |
| 14 | Cristal | 20/1 | 5 | 10-6 | - | Hiram Crawshaw | Ben Land Snr |
Non Finishers
| Horse | Fence | Reason | Starting Price | Age | Handicap | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traveller | 1 | Fell | Unknown | 5 | 10-4 | G Napier | Napier Snr |
| Cinna | LATE 2ND CIR | Pulled Up | 33/1 | 7 | 10-7 | R Count | Unknown |
| Middleton | Canal Turn 1ST CIR | Ran Out | 200/1 | 7 | 10-12 | T Kirk | Unknown |
| Fan | 3 | Refused | 66/1 | 8 | 10-00 | Henry Taylor | J Mumford |
| Tathwell | LATE Canal Side 2ND CIR | Pulled Up | 20/1 | 8 | 10-12 | George Waddington | Unknown |
| Hall Court | END 1ST CIR | Pulled Up | 40/1 | 11 | 10-12 | Tommy Pickernell | Unknown |
| Pretentaine | LATE 2ND CIR | Pulled Up | Unknown | 7 | 10-8 | W Mumford | Unknown |
| Casse Tete | LATE 2ND CIR | Pulled Up | Unknown | 5 | 10-00 | J Rudd | A Cowley |
| The Elk | LATE 2ND CIR | Pulled Up | 66/1 | 12 | 10-7 | Ben Land Jnr | T Brown |