Moifaa

Moifaa
Moifaa in the paddock at Aintree
SireNatator
GrandsireTraducer
DamDenbigh
DamsireThe Painter
SexGelding
Foaled1897
CountryNew Zealand
OwnerSpencer Gollan
TrainerW. Hickey
Major wins
Grand National (1904)
Honours
New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame (2014)

Moifaa was a New Zealand-bred racehorse who won the 1904 Grand National by eight lengths.[1] The jockey was Arthur Birch and the owner at the time was Spencer Gollan.[2][3]

After winning the Grand National the 17 hand gelding was purchased for King Edward VII, but never won again and was soon thereafter retired to the hunting fields of Leicestershire.[4][3] Moifaa was present at the King’s funeral in 1910 ridden by the king’s friend, Major General John Brocklehurst.[5][6][7]

The popular story that Moifaa survived a shipwreck before winning the Grand National is not true. Another contender in the 1904 Grand National, an Australian-bred gelding named Kiora, did survive a shipwreck off the coast of Cape Town in October 1899, where he was found standing on a rock near the site of the wreck. Another horse on board named Chesney allegedly swam a great distance to shore.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Opinion: Moifaa – the Hawke's Bay horse that swam to a Grand National victory". NZ Herald. 13 September 2024.
  2. ^ "A racehorse story too incredible to be true?". NZ Herald. 13 September 2024.
  3. ^ a b https://natlib.govt.nz/records/43375259
  4. ^ "Moifaa | 1904 Grand National Winner from New Zealand". www.grand-national-guide.co.uk.
  5. ^ "Thoroughbred breeding – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand".
  6. ^ "Moifaa". www.tbheritage.com.
  7. ^ Wright, Simone (2 April 2012). "Moiffa - The 'shipwrecked' Grand National winner of 1904". grandnational.horseracing.guide.
  8. ^ Staff (13 October 1899). "The wrecked racehorses". Albury Banner and Wodonga Express. Retrieved 29 April 2013.


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