Workman was an Irish Thoroughbred

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

best known for winning the 1939

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...

Background

Bred by a Dr. P. J. O'Leary in

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, Workman was a very large, powerful brown gelding sired by Cottage out of the Argentinian-bred mare Cariella. Cottage, bred by Baron Edouard de Rothschild in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, went on to sire two more Grand National Winners Lovely Cottage 1946 and Sheila's Cottage in 1948. Workman was sold as a two-year-old for forty

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

and went into training in Ireland.

Early career

After winning a long distance steeplechase at

Punchestown Racecourse Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 Regional road (Ireland), regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays ...

in 1936 he was bought for 1500 guineas by the millionaire match manufacturer Sir Alexander Maguire and sent to be trained by Jack Ruttle at Hazelhatch Stud near

Celbridge Celbridge (; ) is a town and townland on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is west of Dublin. Both a local centre and a commuter town within the Greater Dublin Area, it is located at the intersection of the ...

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

. There was a phrase coined after the great win " MacMoffat was no match for the Workman from the Hatch". He was the first all Irish horse to win the English Grand National, trained, owned, bred and ridden.

1939 Grand National

Workman finished third to the American stallion

Battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

in the 1938 Grand National, having also finished third in the Irish Grand National in 1937. In the 1939 Grand National he carried a weight of ten

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

six pounds and started at odds of 100/8 in a field of thirty-seven runners. The race was run on 24 March in unusually warm and sunny conditions. An unusual feature of the race was a large public gamble on a runner named Blue Shirt after a

message in a bottle A message in a bottle (abbrev. MIB) is a form of communication in which a message is sealed in a container (typically a bottle) and released into a conveyance medium (typically a body of water). Messages in bottles have been used to send distres ...

was washed up on the Irish coast tipping the horse to win. Ridden by Tim Hyde, Workman was not among the early front-runners, but moved up to take the lead at

Valentine's Brook Valentine's Brook is a fence on Aintree Racecourse's National Course and thus is jumped during the Grand National steeplechase which is held annually at the racecourse, located near Liverpool, England. Originally named as the Second Brook, it wa ...

on the second circuit. Over the last two fences he was strongly challenged by MacMoffat, but pulled away on the run-in to win by three lengths with the favourite Kilstar fifteen lengths back in third. Eleven horses completed the four and a half mile course. Workman's prize of £7,284 made him the most financially successful horse of the 1938/9

National Hunt National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, Great Britain and Ireland. Jump Racing requires horses to jump over fences and ditches. In ...

season and enabled Maguire and Ruttle to be the season's leading owner and trainer respectively. For trainer Jack Ruttle it was his first English Grand National win after notching up three

Irish Grand National The Irish Grand National is a National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 3 miles and 5 furlongs (5, ...

winners with Halston in 1920 and 1922 and Poolgowran in 1934. Tim Hyde also had further success on English Turf when he returned in 1946 to win the

Cheltenham Gold Cup The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlon ...

on Prince Regent.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist Grand National winners Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom 1930 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 2-e