1904 Grand National

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.

1904 Grand National
Grand National
LocationAintree
Date25 March 1904
Winning horseNew Zealand Moifaa
Starting price25/1
JockeyArthur Birch
TrainerW Hickey
OwnerSpencer Gollan
ConditionsGood to soft
← 1903
1905 →

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

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PositionNameJockeyAgeHandicap (st-lb)SPDistance
01MoifaaArthur Birch810-71025 25/18 lengths
02KirklandFrank Mason810-101014.2857142857 100/7Neck
03The GunnerMr Joe Widger710-41025 25/1
04Shawn AbooA Waddington610-11100 100/1
05Robin Hood IVA Magee610-31033 33/1
06Band of HopePatrick Cowley89-131040 40/1
07NapillahMr Arthur Wood89-91100 100/1
08BenvenirPercy Woodland89-101020 20/1
09ManifestoH Pigott1612-11020 20/1Last to complete

Non-finishers

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FenceNameJockeyAgeHandicap (st-lb)SPFate
03Ambush IIAlgy Anthony1012-61003.5 7/2Fell
29The Pride of MabestownMr Arthur Gordon811-01066 66/1Fell
04InquisitorErnest Acres910-11 [1]1009 9/1Fell
05PatlanderE Matthews810-101007 7/1Fell
21DeerslayerJames Phillips810-101025 25/1Fell
24DetailArthur Nightingall??1007.1428571429 100/14Knocked Over
04CushendonDennis Morris910-71100 100/1Fell
?Knight of St PatrickM Walsh710-61100 100/1?
14May KingBill Dollery810-51025 25/1Pulled Up
05ComfitMr Frank Hartigan610-41033 33/1Fell
06BiologyDavid Read710-11033 33/1Fell
05Loch LomondFred Freemantle69-101066 66/1Fell
01RailoffR Sullivan79-91100 100/1Fell
14Old TownMr Harry Ripley139-71100 100/1Pulled Up
14Honeymoon IIW Lynn99-71050 50/1Fell
05KioraT McGuire910-31040 40/1Fell
05Hill of BreeGeorge Goswell810-41033 33/1?

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

Media coverage and aftermath

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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]

References

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  1. ^ "1904".
  2. ^ "Aintree 1904 Grand National".
  3. ^ The Grand National 1839-1930 by David Hoadley Munroe
  4. ^ "Heroes and heroines of the Grand National". 1907.
  5. ^ "1904".
  6. ^ "Moifaa – Grand National Tales". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2013.