Following his last gasp, smash and grab victory over Crisp in 1973, Red Rum returned to Aintree on March 30, 1974, attempting to become the first horse since Reynoldstown,in 1936, to win back-to-back renewals of the Grand National. In the absence of Crisp, injured when beating Red Rum by eight lengths, at level weights, in a match race at Doncaster, the latter was saddled with top weight of 12st 0lb in the National, 23lb more than in 1973. Consequently, he was 24lb worse off with L’Escargot, whom he had beaten into a distant third the previous year.
A total of 42 horses went to post for the 1974 Grand National, of which 17 completed the course. At the ‘off’, the lightly-weighted Scout, trained by Arthur Stephenson and ridden by Tommy Stack, was sent off marginal favourite at 7/1, just ahead of L’Escargot at 17/2, with Red Rum at 11/1 and 14/1 bar that trio.
Ridden by Brian Fletcher, as he had been in 1973, Red Rum took closer order early on the second circuit, led over Becher’s Brook second time around and, thereafter, was not for catching. L’Escargot, ridden by Tommy Carberry, briefly closed to press the leader approaching the second-last fence, but Red Rum drew clear again, with Fletcher looking around, and crossed the line seven lengths to the good. L’Escargot just held second, a short head in front of 50/1 chance Charles Dickens, to whom he was conceding 27lb, with Spanish Steps fourth (for the second year running), a further eight lengths away. On the prevailing good going, the winning time, 9 minutes and 20.3 seconds, was much slower than the record 9 minutes and 1.9 seconds set by Red Rum himself, on good to firm going, the previous year, but nonetheless only 0.1 seconds slower than the previous record set by the aforementioned Reynoldstown in 1935.