SHAUN GOILIN'S VICTORY

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 75, 29 March 1930, Page 11

SHAUN GOILIN'S VICTORY

CLOSE FINISH

FOBTY-ONE STARTEBS

United Press Association—By. .Electric".Tele-

graph— Copyright

(Received 29th March, 10.30 a.m.)

LONDON, 2Sth March,

Following is the result of the

GEAND NATIONAL STEEPLECHASE, a sweepstakes of 100 soys.

with 5000 soys added. About four

miles and 556 yards. W. 11. Midwood's eh g Shaun Goilin

sire's pedigree unknown—Golden Day, lOyrs, 11.7 ....... W. Wilson's br m Melleray's Belle

by Melleray—Mountain Lily llyrs, 30.0 ...... ..... .£ J.,. li. Whitney's Sir. Lindsay, 9yrs,

' There'were forty-one starters. Won by a neck, with a length and a. half between second, and third horses.

Won-by a neck, with a. length and a half between second and third. Only five of tho forty-one finished the course.

Shaun Goilin's astounding burst of speed enabled him to outpace the leaders in a desperate finish at the end of a punishing race, over the most difficult steeplechase course in the world. The race was run in the unusually fast time of 9min 40 3-ssec, compared with the average of over ten minutes, and provided one of the most exciting Grand Nationals in history. It was also "notble because five' of. the' finishers, including Ballynan Wood, were bunched instead of the customary stringing out, but the. remainder of the field, the most of whom had either fallen or refused the earlier jumps, faded, out of the picture in the last mile. T.his is the first time the Grand National lias been won by a horse whoso sire's; pedigree is unknown, but the fact that he is Irish-bred, coming all the way from Tippc-rary, caused thousands of Irishmen to favour his chances.

Tho owner,' Mr. W. H. Midwood, was formerly a champion gentleman rider at Shanghai and Hong Kong, and is now a Liverpool stockbroker, and is master of the Cheshire foxhounds. He never bets, but told his frienls that he was confident and it had been his lifelong ambition to carry off the. Grand National. He had been trying for eight years, and paid 10,500 guineas for Silvio, which was third in 1924. He gave much less for Shaun Goilin, which changed hands .as a two-yearold for 22 guineas. The jockey, Cullinan, an Irish - examateur, was engaged to ride ilaster Hero, whose lameness put him out of the race until Midwood offered him the mount. Cullinan says that it was an armchair journey, and he knew he could win when ho dashed over the last fence.

The Americans were . disappointed. Sir Lindsay made a magnificent race of it, bj.it was unsuccessful, as also was the American-owned Glangesia, .dropping back after leading for nearly three-quarters of the course- In fact Glangesia was leading until over halfway in the second round, • accompanied by Merrivale, Sandyhook, and Glakie. Towards the end of the first circuit Melleray's Belle and Sir Lindsay came up with the leaders and Shaun Goilin got even with them later.' Shaun Goilin and Melleray's Belle jumped the last fence together a length ahead of.the field and there ■ was a terrific race in the straight which saw Shaun Goilin gain a narrow victory. Glangesia was fourth. Gregalach was pulled up at halfway and about twenty fell. Once again a cumbersome field has started in the greatest cross-country chase of the world and with again so many casualties, no doubt the agitation will be renewed for some means to reduce the field. The winner. Snaun Goilin is Irish bred-and with a sire who boasts no pedigree. . He is a proved1 horse over the National country, having won the last Grand Sefton Steeplechase. The latest available files show that he was produced in the stayers' steeplechase at Birmingham on 11th February, run over a course of three miles and threo furlongs. With top weight 12.7 he started favourite but finished ten lengths away third. "Sporting Life" commented on the performance this way:— The Grand Sefton winner, Shaun Goilin, gave a fine exhibition, of fencing, taking his obstacler in perfect fashion, but he could not accelerate his pace when it was most desired. Bearing in mind that he had not been out for some time tho gelding's performance enhanced rather than discounted his Aintree prospects. Shaun Goilin was one of thoso supported for the big steeplechase at the first call of the card and no doubt he would be a well backed horse on the day. He is trained by a masterhand with jumpers in F. Hartigan. . . . If Melleray's Belle had triumphed instead of only being a neck away second, she would have been the first of her sex to win this race since 1902. She finished fourth last year and on that occasion ran a fine race. Apparently there was.some disposition to belittle her chance this year in some quarters but the London authority "Augur" took up the cudgels on her behalf. Early in February he wrote:— Melleray's Belle was also out for some public practice at Manchester, and did as well as was to have been expected, considering that she is only 'a onepacer, was running' over a much shorter distance than can show her to anything like advantage, and was also meeting Grakle on more than a stone worse terms than in the Grand National. Melleray's Belle is on the minimum mark at Liverpool, which means, so far as I can see, that she is likely to come best out of the group handicapped at lOst. For, even though the hanclicapper was prevented from placing this mare and the top-weight farther apart, t.s he assuredly would have done had the range of weights allowed him, you cannot grade Melleray's Belle as being amongst the riffraff after her last year's display, for, although her lack of speed counted against her before she set off in such a big field, her abilities proved equal to tho fencing test. This now reads like sound judgment. The third horse Sir Lindsay was quite eclipsed when the mare; was left by his stablemate, the favourite Easter hero. . Sir Lindsay, however^ is a prov|od Aintree horse for ho had a third place in last year's Stanloy ■ Steeplechase to his credit. Sir Lindsay is trained by J. Anthony for the American enthusiast Mr. J. H. Whitney.