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Properly by Advance or Belzoni, although most historians favor Belzoni, Vanguard was the upset winner of the 1843 Grand National, beating the favored Peter Simple and the aging Lottery, who was making his fifth run in the race. Vanguard's National was the first where horses ran with handicaps, rather than weight-for-age, and with his previous five victories over fences, Vanguard was given 11 st. 20 lb. to carry. Belzoni was a well-known hunter sire, and his sire, Brutandorf, a winner of the Chester Cup. The Blacklock sire line had a reputation for siring good hunters; a Brutandorf son, Gaylad, won the Grand National of 1842. There were a number of other National winners in sire-line descent within a few generations of Blacklock. |
