FAMOUS 'CHASERS i83 



more amiable horse never carried a saddle. It has 

 already been remarked that horses which have run 

 well on one occasion in the Grand National have 

 frequently done the same afterwards ; a very con- 

 siderable proportion of the winners had been in the 

 first three more than once, and Frigate, who won in 

 1889, occupied the unenviable position of second in 

 three Nationals. Every one who has read anything 

 about the great race has been acquainted with the fact 

 that the sisters Emblem and Emblematic, who won in 

 1863 and 1864, were the reverse of handsome animals 

 to look at. Emblem, probably the better of the pair, 

 has been described as " all shoulders and quarters 

 with no ribs," but both won cleverly in the hands of 

 George Stevens, who carried off five Nationals 

 altogether and was an admirable horseman, though it 

 seems to have been the fashion in his day to blame 

 him for laying out of his ground. The Colonel, who 

 won in 1869 and 1870, was in appearance in very 

 marked contrast to the famous sisters, having been a 

 particularly handsome horse. Like so many other 

 good 'chasers he was a failure on the flat. 



In the Grand National one very excellent rule is to 

 avoid the crowd, even if the rider has to go a little 

 further round, for there is usually a good deal of hust- 

 ling, especially at the first few fences, and the good 

 horses that have been knocked over through no fault 

 of their own would make a long list. Of course, in 

 such a race as the Grand National luck has a vast deal 



