Grand National History 1939 - 1930
Aintree Grand National 1939
"Workman" won the 1939 Grand National on the 24th of March one hundred years after in first moved to Aintree whilst ridden by Tim Hyde. "MacMoffat" followed in second as he would in 1940 as the horse battled hard coming close both times but could not manage to win a National. "Kilstar" ridden by Mr. G Archibald finished in third after starting the race as 8-1 favourite followed by "Cooleen" who along with jockey Mr. J Fawcus would finish in the top four for the last time.
Aintree Grand National 1938
1937 runner up "Cooleen" dropped two places to fourth after beginning the 1938 Grand National as favourite behind three horses that weren't expected to be in the running as "Battleship" won at Aintree ridden by Bruce Hobbs as the pair who had began at 40-1 held off the other thirty-five starters. "Royal Danieli" finished in second with odds of 18-1 followed by 28-1 horse "Workman" and jockey Mr. J Brogan.
Winning jockey Bruce Hobbs became the youngest jockey to win a Grand National riding winning horse "Battleship" who was American owned and bred. Reg Hobbs the father of Bruce trained the horse specifically for the Grand National.
Aintree Grand National 1937
"Royal Mail" won the 1937 Grand National ridden by Evan Williams for owner Hugh Lloyd Thomas. The horse was trained by Ivor Anthony who had previously trained "Kellsboro' Jack" when the horse won back in 1933. Mr. J Fawcus who had ridden "Bachelor Prince" to third in 1936 returned this time on "Cooleen" with the pair finishing in second and beginning a span of four races which would see the jockey never finishing lower than fourth but never winning a Grand National. "Pucka Belle" finished in third followed by "Ego" ridden by Mr. H Llewellyn for the second year in a row.
Aintree Grand National 1936
Thirty-five horses were led out on the 27th of March for the 1936 Grand National marking 100 years since the start of the event, although this may be unofficially 100 years since it began it may have been seen as somehow fitting that another horse "Reynoldstown" one century after "The Duke" who won the very first two Nationals would match the achievement winning the event two successive years. Owner and Trainer Noel Furlong was also winning the event for the second year in a row.
"Reynoldstown" returned this time with jockey Fulke Walwyn as the horses odds tightened up to 10-1 following on from the excellent performance a year earlier. The horse which, was one of ten to finish the race in 1936 was followed by a group whom all were outsiders as 50-1 "Ego" finished second with "Bachelor Prince" and "Crown Prince" in third and fourth with the pair both at 66-1.
Aintree Grand National 1935
The 1935 Grand National was won by "Reynoldstown" who a year later would become the first horse to win two Nationals in a row since "Poethlyn" won "The War National Steeplechase" in Gatwick in 1918 followed by the Liverpool Grand National, a year later and also the first horse to win two in a row at Aintree since "The Colonel" in 1869 and 1870. "Reynoldstown" was both owned and trained by Noel Furlong who would perform both duties again the following year.
The jockey Frank Furlong would only ride the horse to victory in 1935, as Fulke Walwyn would be in the saddle the following year. Frank had ridden well previously in the Grand National with finishes as high as second on "Really True" as a 66-1 outsider in 1933, but this would surpass all other races for the jockey who deservedly won. "Blue Prince" finished second followed by "Thomond II" who would match his 1934 finishing place of third again ridden by Mr. W Speck.
1935 was also the first time a Grand National began with under 30 runners since 1923 when 28 raced that year, which was one more than the twenty-seven to compete this time around. It would not be until 1954 that less than thirty would race in the National again and that would only miss out by one solitary horse.
Aintree Grand National 1934
Five-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner "Golden Miller" won the 1934 Grand National and is now considered to be arguably the greatest steeplechaser of all time. Such high praise considering the other great horses that have come and gone, but the horse which added a Grand National victory to it's resume will always be thought of highly. 1934 was also the last time "Golden Miller" completed the course at Aintree as horse and jockey Gerry Wilson finished ahead of "Delaneige" who moved up from fourth a year earlier. "Thomond II" and 1932 winner "Forbra" followed the two in third in fourth.
Aintree Grand National 1933
Jockey Dudley Williams who had previously finished third in the 1930 National and third again in 1932 won the 1933 race while riding "Kellsboro' Jack" to his only Grand National victory. It was a momentous day for the jockey who'd come as close as anyone the past few years as he finally won his one and only victory in the big one at Aintree with owner Ivor Anthony cheering the pair on. For Ivor Anthony though it would not be just the one win as he would return to the top four years later, then as owner of "Royal Mail" who would win the 1937 National.
"Really True" finished in second with Frank Furlong who would later win the National followed by "Slater" in third and "Delaneige" ridden by Mr. J Moloney who had consistently performed well pairing up in fourth place in a year when nineteen horses completed the course. The nineteen horses that finished the race was the most ever at a Liverpool National only being beaten in 1947 when twenty-one from fifty-seven finished.
Aintree Grand National 1932
"Forbra" won the 1932 Grand National ridden by Mr. Hamey as the pair, which began at 50-1, completed the course in first followed by "Egremont" and Mr. E C Paget also with wide odds of 33-1 in second. "Shaun Goilin" finished third two years after winning the race with new jockey Dudley Williams who himself would win the following year with "Near East" completing the quartet.
Aintree Grand National 1931
Robert Lyall riding "Grakle" won the 1931 Grand National followed by 1929 winner "Gregalach" who couldn't really have had larger odds than when he won from 100-1 two years earlier, with him this time starting the race at 25-1. "Annandale" finished third followed by "Rhyticere" as nine from forty-three finished. The 1931 also featured it's second foreign horse run as "Gyi Lovam" from Czechoslovakia as it was then raced, fell, was remounted and then fell again. "Gyi Lovam" was the first foreign horse to race since 1868 when "Buszke" from Hungary entered the National but also did not complete the course.
Aintree Grand National 1930
It was "Shaun Goilin" who was making his first appearance in the first four past the post but not his last as he won the 1930 Grand National ridden by Tommy Cullinan. The horse would return to the top four two years later then in third place. For the jockey though finishing this high wasn't entirely new as Tommy Cullinan had lead a National before when riding "Billy Barton" two years earlier only to miss out and finish in second place as "Tipperary Tim" won.
The pair lead from "Melleray's Belle" in second who began with much lower odds in 1930, dropping from 200-1 a year earlier to 20-1 this time around. "Melleray's Belle" was ridden by Mr. J Mason again as the pair finished ahead of "Sir Lindsay" in third and "Glangesia" in fourth who were four of the six horses to finish from forty-one that had started.
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