Moifaa | |
---|---|
Sire | Natator |
Grandsire | Traducer |
Dam | Denbigh |
Damsire | The Painter |
Sex | Gelding |
Foaled | 1897 |
Country | New Zealand |
Owner | Spencer Gollan |
Trainer | W. 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]