Sergeant Murphy

It is fair to say that Sergeant Murphy is not your typical Grand National horse for a multitude of reasons, with plenty to talk about when it comes to him.

In 1923, he would come home to win the Grand National by three lengths, breaking or equalling plenty of records along the way.

An American-bred horse, he spent all of his racing career in the UK and was the first horse owned by an American to win the Grand National. He did so at the very end of his career, when winning the race, he was a 13-year-old, which leaves him tied with Why Not (1884 winner) as being the oldest winner of the Grand National.

He would actually complete the race seven times in his career and was almost foot-perfect around Aintree, completing on six out of the seven occasions he raced. He would actually run in the race twice after winning it, making his last appearance in 1925 as a 15-year-old.

If you want to know anything about Sergeant Murphy, then his record shows just how tough and durable he was during his career, while he was clearly a good jumper, even over the testing Aintree obstacles.

Sergeant Murphy would actually begin his association with the Grand National in 1918, a time when the race was called the ‘War National’ and ran at Gatwick Racecourse while Aintree was being used as a war base.

Prior to winning, he would finish 4^th in 1920 and 1922, going close, but not close enough, but of course, that would all change with his 1923 win. He actually fell and was remounted in the 1922 race, which adds even more to his special success a year later, coming back after a fall.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that 1923 was all about the Grand National, especially as the horse was now 13 years old, but you’d be wrong. In the same year as winning the Aintree Grand National, Sergeant Murphy would also win the Scottish Grand National.

The story of the horse was told in Hollywood when a film was made about him. While the story is about the horse, it heavily focuses on three jockeys who rode him in the Grand National and their careers. William Smith, Charles Hawkins and Tuppy Bennett are the three jockeys, and sadly, all three of them died from racing injuries within two years of each other. Bennett was the man who was on board when the horse won the Grand National.

The horse would sadly die due to a broken hind leg, which he suffered on the track in a race at Bogside, Scotland. This happened in 1926. The horse was 17 years old at the time.

Full Results