County Derry ‘positively transformative’ for Grand National winner

A County Derry-linked horse won The Grand National 100 years ago this week in one of the event’s great underdog tales.

On March 28, 1924, eleven-year-old Donegal-bred thoroughbred Master Robert won as a huge longshot horse with an out of favour jockey.

The horse spent time in Magherafelt and was briefly owned by Pat Murray, who also owned what is now Bryson’s bar in Magherafelt.

Master Robert was bred in Donegal, and spent time in Strabane, Magherafelt and Moy before being sent to England. The horse trained at The Curragh racecourse in its early years.

Francis X Murray is writing a book about the horse, which he originally learned about while on a trip to explore his own roots.

He lives in New York and hails from Philadelphia with Irish 'ancestral roots in Derry, Tyrone and Tipperary'.

“Until ten years ago, I possessed an insignificant knowledge of my Irish heritage. On my first trip to Ireland in 2013, through a series of serendipitous events, I met a third cousin of mine, previously unknown to me, during a visit to County Derry,” Francis said.

“After spending a pleasant few days with my newly discovered relative - learning much about my paternal County Derry heritage - he asked me on my way out of his door: ‘Do you know the story of Master Robert?’”

“He explained to me that his uncle, Patrick Murray - my great-granduncle - owned the horse for a time before he won and that he kept the horse at the local pub he owned which still exists. He told me I should stop by on my way out of town. Wow, I thought ‘That’s pretty cool’ so I did indeed visit Paddy Murray’s old pub, now named Bryson's, on my way out of town.”

“Arriving at the pub, I quickly found hanging on the wall inside was a 1999 Mid Ulster Mail newspaper article about Pat Murray’s ownership of Master Robert, the source of the story being Pat’s son, Joe, another third cousin of mine of whom I had been unaware, who recounted the tale when he came ‘home’ on a visit from Canada – the country to which Murray and his family emigrated in 1929.”

Defying the odds

On the day of Master Robert’s unlikely win, The Grand National was ‘very likely the highest-attended single-day sporting event in the world in 1924’ according to Francis.

“Master Robert was a longshot because he battled lameness in the weeks leading up to The Grand National, and faced the past three winners of the event Sergeant Murphy, Music Hall and Shaun Spadah as well as 'the hottest favourite on record' Conjuror II (5/2) whose race ended the first time over Becher's Brook.

“Several of the most famous jockeys of the day had mounts, including Jack Anthony (Music Hall); Fred Rees (Shaun Spadah); Joe Hogan Jr. (Sergeant Murphy) and Harry Brown (Conjuror II).”

Additionally, the horse's regular jockey refused the ride, because of Master Robert's lameness.

“No fashionable rider would take the ride. Bob Trudgill was a journeyman jockey, unattached to a stable, who was never in a position to turn down a ride.

“The day before The Grand National, in a race at Aintree, Trudgill was thrown from his mount, Charlie Wise, and injured. Despite the doctor's orders not to ride, Trudgill would not be denied his opportunity.”

The pair managed to combine and defy the 25/1 odds to win.

In his 1945 book The Grand National, Con O’Leary wrote 'No other jockey but Trudgill would have won on Master Robert. It might also be said that Trudgill would not have been given the opportunity of winning on any other. For horse and jockey, it was time and place and partner all together.'

“Master Robert's was a record fourth - third, if you exclude his War National win - and final Grand National victory for his trainer, Aubrey Hastings. His owner, Scotland's Lord Airlie, was close to the Royal Family, and later served as Lord Chamberlain.”

County Derry’s crucial influence

While the story begins in Donegal, Francis said the Magherafelt leg of Master Robert’s journey was ‘fundamentally and positively transformative’ for the horse.

“In 1912 a prominent Castlefinn farmer, Ulster Scot Robert McKinlay, decided to breed his stallion Moorside II to a friend's mare for the purpose of producing a thoroughbred racehorse.

“McKinlay was a highly regarded horse breeder, but this was to be his first foal bred to be a racehorse.

“Despite all his love and support of the animal, and sending him twice to the best trainers at The Curragh, first to be a flat racer and then after WWI to be a jumper, Master Robert failed, and was left to be a plough horse to earn his keep.”

Francis said Master Robert refused the plough leaving McKinlay with ‘no use for his beloved animal’ and he was sold. The sale was seen as a favour to McKinlay by both parties.

The friend kept Master Robert only six weeks before the horse found himself working in Strabane's Canal Basin, which in that time served as an important food distribution point for the region.

Later the horse would be transferred to Paddy Murray, a Catholic publican in Magherafelt. Paddy and his wife Sarah operated a public house on Union Road (at what is now Bryson's in Magherafelt) - which was first established as the Fountain Hotel in 1864.

“Paddy's avocation was jumping horses and did so in local point-to-points. He kept horses in his stables behind the bar. Master Robert, who was bred to much fanfare and trained by two of the best Curragh trainers of the day, was at the lowest part of his life.

“In those days Paddy's grocer made deliveries to his bar using his cart pulled by a horse. Paddy took notice of his grocer's cart horse and eventually asked his grocer if he would sell the horse to him, which he did.

“Paddy eventually got the horse to perform as a jumper such that he and others took notice.”

Francis’s book about Master Robert will take the form of a narrative nonfiction novel. He has completed his manuscript and is currently presenting shortly to literary agents for consideration.

He said he believes Master Robert's National Hunt career and ultimate Grand National participation and performance was ‘particularly improbable and inspiring, and took place during a notably interesting period in history’.

“I believe Master Robert's story may serve as a defining Grand National tale, beginning with breeder Robert McKinlay in Donegal at the outset of the Irish Home Rule debate in 1912, continuing there and in Kildare (The Curragh) through World War I between 1914 and 1918 and proceeding to The Curragh (again) and through Ulster after the start of and during the War of Independence (1919-1921), and subsequently, into Gatsbyesque England at the height of the British Empire, when The Grand National was the most significant single-day sporting event in the world.

“The life, times and decisions of eight owners, Master Robert's own personality and physical condition, and Aubrey Hastings' and Bob Trudgill's influence were all factors during a twelve-year dramatic odyssey culminating with earning the Grand National Blue Riband.”

More information about Master Robert and Francis's upcoming book can be found at: masterrobert.horse