1904 Grand National Explained

Pagename:1904 Grand National
Horse Race:Grand National
Location:Aintree
Date:25 March 1904
Winning Horse: Moifaa
Starting Price:25/1
Winning Jockey:Arthur Birch
Winning Trainer:W Hickey
Winning Owner:Spencer Gollan
Conditions:Good to soft
Previous:1903
Next:1905

The 1904 Grand National was the 66th renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 25 March 1904.

The winner, Moifaa, was the first ever non-British/Irish winner of the race. He ran in the race again the following year, when he was owned by the King.

Finishing Order

data-sort-type="number"PositionNameJockeydata-sort-type="number"AgeHandicap (st-lb)SPDistance
01MoifaaArthur Birch810-78 lengths
02KirklandFrank Mason810-10Neck
03The GunnerMr Joe Widger710-4
04Shawn AbooA Waddington610-1
05Robin Hood IVA Magee610-3
06Band of HopePatrick Cowley89-13
07NapillahMr Arthur Wood89-9
08BenvenirPercy Woodland89-10
09ManifestoH Pigott1612-1Last to complete

Non-finishers

FenceNameJockeyAgeHandicap (st-lb)SPFate
03Ambush IIAlgy Anthony1012-6Fell
29The Pride of MabestownMr Arthur Gordon811-0Fell
04InquisitorErnest Acres910-11 [1] Fell
05PatlanderE Matthews810-10Fell
21DeerslayerJames Phillips810-10Fell
24DetailArthur Nightingall??Knocked Over
04CushendonDennis Morris910-7Fell
?Knight of St PatrickM Walsh710-6?
14May KingBill Dollery810-5Pulled Up
05ComfitMr Frank Hartigan610-4Fell
06BiologyDavid Read710-1Fell
05Loch LomondFred Freemantle69-10Fell
01RailoffR Sullivan79-9Fell
14Old TownMr Harry Ripley139-7Pulled Up
14Honeymoon IIW Lynn99-7Fell
05KioraT McGuire910-3Fell
05Hill of BreeGeorge Goswell810-4?

[2] [3] [4] [5]

Media coverage and aftermath

Shortly after his victory, a story emerged from the United States that the Grand National winner had come to England, the survivor of a ship wreck. The popularity of the story of the Robinson Crusoe Grand National winner gained weight through the decades and has been retold many times in books and on television regarding the race, with some versions telling of super equine feats of fifty mile swims to safety. While Moifaa is known to have sailed from Australia to England without incident, the story is not totally without a grain of truth as another New Zealand bred competitor in the 1904 National, Kiora had indeed been shipwrecked on its way to England. The horse had swum nearly half a mile through stormy seas to a reef before being rescued in a very exhausted state the following day.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1904.
  2. Web site: Aintree 1904 Grand National.
  3. The Grand National 1839-1930 by David Hoadley Munroe
  4. Web site: Heroes and heroines of the Grand National. 1907.
  5. Web site: 1904.
  6. Web site: Moifaa – Grand National Tales . 21 July 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131029211734/http://www.grand-national.net/moifaa.htm . 29 October 2013 . dead .