1958 Grand National

English steeplechase horse race May 2014 May 2014 1958 Grand National Grand National Aintree Racecourse 29 March 1958 Ireland Mr. What 18/1 England Arthur Freeman Ireland Tom Taaffe Sr. David J. Coughlan Soft 1957 1959 right 275px Highlights of the 1958 Grand National (British Pathé) British Movietone The 1958 Grand National was the 112th renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 29 March 1958. From an initial entry of 56 Daily Mirror, Friday 10 January 1958, page 14, column 1, Headline: Ireland enter 11 The field of 31 runners competed for record prize money of nearly £14,000. The race was won by 18/1 shot Mr. What, by a distance of 30 lengths. The eight-year-old was ridden by jockey Arthur Freeman and trained by Tom Taaffe Sr., and became the fifth Irish winner of the Grand National since the Second World War. Race Card Thirty two runners were declared to run with Top Twenty, to be ridden by Shortt being withdrawn on the day of the race after bursting a blood vessel when finishing fifth in the Topham Chase two days before the National.Daily Mirror, Friday 28 March 1958, Top Twenty breaks blood vessel There were no late jockey changes from those declared on the race card. Mr What's trainer Tom Taffe left it until five days before the race to engage Arthur Freeman, as he had wanted his son Tosse to partner his entry. However Tosse was expected to ride the highly fancied Sam Brownthorn and with options for a replacement running out, Taffe booked Freeman, who himself had been left without a mount after losing the ride on Athenian to Derrick Ancil, having two other engagements withdrawn, and losing his standby slot on Never Say When as the injured Stan Mellor was passed fit a week before the race. Although Tosse Taffe did become available to ride forty-eight hours before the race when Sam Brownthorn was withdrawn, Taffe senior stuck to his booking, leaving Taffe junior to partner Brookling instead.Daily Mirror, Monday 3 March 1958: Article, luck always has the last word. Finishing order PositioncoloursNameJockeyAgeHandicap (st-lb)SPDistance01Maroon, Maroon and Yellow hooped sleeves, Yellow cap with maroon hoopMr. WhatArthur Freeman810-618/130 Lengths02Maroon and Yellow halved, sleeves reversed, yellow capTiberettaGeorge Slack1010-628/115 Lengths03Eton blueGreen DrillGeorge Milburn810-1028/104CeriseWyndburghMichael Batchelor811-36/105White, Hay tartan cross beltsGoosanderTim Molony1011-7100/706Green, white hoop and armletsESBDavid Dick1211-1228/107Yellow, Green striped sleeves, quartered capHolly BankPeter Brookshaw1110-1350/1Last to Complete Broadcasting and Media With Mrs Topham continuing to refuse to allow the BBC to broadcast the race on Television, coverage of the race remained restricted to a thirty-minute radio broadcast at 3pm on the BBC Light Programme. This was the twenty-seventh consecutive renewal, dating back to 1927 to be covered by BBC radio.Daily Mirror, Saturday 29 March 1958, TV & Radio Schedule Filming the race remained the preserve of the two major newsreel services, Pathe and Movietone, with both rapidly releasing their newsreels of the race as early as that evening in some local cinemas as a special in its own right, rather than as part of their normal newsreel service. The Daily Mirror, Daily Herald, Daily Express and Daily Mail all carried extensive previews of the race Non-finishers FenceColoursNameJockeyAgeHandicap (st-lb)SPFate02Cream, Purple striped sleeves & capLongmeadWillie Robinson811-128/1Fell05Crimson, Old gold sleeves & capRendezvous IIIJohnny Bullock1010-345-1Fell05Yellow, Black capPrincess GarterWilliam Roberts1110-366/1Fell05Chocolate with Yellow cross beltsValiant SparkMichael Scudamore910-720/1Fell06Dark blue with light blue hoop and sleeves, white capMustBert Morrow1010-150/1Fell06Yellow with black belt & capSentinaPat Taaffe810-1118/1Brought Down06Dark blue with pale blues sleeves & collarFrozen CreditPeter Ransom1210-1266/1Refused07Orange with black & white quartered capComedian's FollyDerrick Scott1010-066/1Refused11Black with scarlet capGlorious TwelfthJumbo Wilkinson911-328/1Refused13Grey with black & white quartered capBrooklingTosse Taaffe910-328/1Fell15Grey with scarlet sleeves, collar, braid & capAce Of TrumpsPaddy Farrell1010-1240/1Pulled Up16Straw with pink sleeves & capRichardstownJames Morrissey1010-040/1Fell17Grey with white sleeves & gold capMoston LaneTaffy Jenkins910-066/1Refused18Yellow with white hoop & red capColledge MasterBill Rees811-225/1Pulled-Up19Chocolate with yellow collar, cuffs & capAthenianDerek Ancil910-1122/1Fell19Turquoise blue with pink hooped sleeves and capNever Say WhenStan Mellor910-250/1Fell19Pink with black hooped sleeves & quartered capSoutherntownPatrick Cowley1210-166/1Unseated Rider19Madonna blue & brown quarteredSpringsilverFred Winter810-418/1Refused19Blue & silver hoops with quartered capWise ChildStan Hayhurst1011-645-1Pulled-Up20Purple with pink sleeves & cap with purple spotsThe CrofterJimmy Power1010-040-1Fell22Pale blue with tan sleeves & capPippykinTim Brookshaw1010-522/1Fell22Mauve with yellow sleeves, mauve armlets & yellow capSydney JonesMichael Tory1110-1228/1Brought Down22White with black hoop, armlet, collar and cuffs with quartered capHart RoyalPeter Pickford1010-1118/1Refused28Dark blue with two pale green diagonal stripes and hoop on cap Colours as described in the Daily Mirror race card, Saturday 29 March 1958Eagle LodgeAlan Oughton910-018/1Pulled Up The Grand National : the history of the Aintree spectacular, by Stewart Peters & Bernard Parkin, 0-7524-3547-7 http://fiftiesnationals.webs.com/1958.htm 1958 - The Grand National & Aintree 1946-1959 Fiftiesnationals.webs.com 2014-08-18 http://www.grand-national.net/past_winners.htm Past Winners of The Grand National Grand-national.net 2014-08-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20111104085359/http://www.grand-national.net/past_winners.htm 4 November 2011 dead Pathe's footage of the race shows that Comedian's Folly refused twice at the sixth fence {Becher's Brook} clearing it only at the third attempt, while Sentina also appears to fall rather than being brought down. Post Race August 2023 Trainer Neville Crump told the press after the race that his Goosander would not be entered again for the National. "I don't say that he will never run at Aintree again, but he obviously doesn't stay the full National distance." he stated after the horse finished a tired fifth. Jockey Peter Pickford advised the same of Hart Royal, stating "He just hated the big fences all the way and I could never get anywhere near the leaders." Bill Rees expressed similar sentiments of Colledge Master who he said "made a hole big enough in the seventeenth fence to walk through." Derrick Ancil reported that his mount, Athenian's race ended at the nineteenth fence, stuck with "Forelegs on one side and hind legs on the other." Mrs Topham was forced to defend the race after a combination of poor weather and moving from a Friday to a Saturday led to a notciably reduced attendance in the enclosures and out in the extremes of the course. However, she blamed the Tote, claiming that their "4s minimum stake to get into the enclosures puts people off. If the Tote would reduce this to 2s then people would come flocking back, not just to the Grand National but to all race courses." References 1958 1958 Grand National Grand National Grand National