Manifesto (foaled 1888) was a British National Hunt racehorse best known for winning the

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

twice and running in the race a record eight times. He was instrumental in restoring the prestige and popularity to the Grand National as the race had been marred by corruption in previous years.

Breeding

Manifesto was bred by Harry Dyas and was a son of Man O’War (not to be confused with the American champion) out of a mare called Vae Victus. He was a good looking bay horse with a white snip on his nose.

Racing career

Early career

Manifesto was given time to mature before making his racing debut. He fell in his first race in 1892 before winning a maiden hurdle race over two miles. He went on to win the Irish Champion Steeplechase and the 1894 Lancashire Chase.

1895 Grand National

Manifesto first attempted to win the Grand National aged 7. He managed to finish fourth behind Wild Man Of Borneo under a weight of 11 stone 2 lbs and ridden by Terry Kavanagh.

1896 Grand National

This year ridden by his owner Harry Dyas, Manifesto got no further than first fence after he collided mid-air with Redhill and fell.

1897 Grand National

In a bid to change his luck in the race, Dyas employed Willie McAuliffe to train Manifesto with Terry Kavanagh riding again. The horse was weighted with 11 stone 3 lbs and sent off the 6-1 favourite. After one false start, the field remained intact until the

Canal Turn The Canal Turn is a fence on Aintree Racecourse's National Course and thus is jumped during the Grand National Steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase which is held annually at the racecourse, located near Liverpool, England. Named for the Leeds ...

with Manifesto racing second. A duel developed between Manifesto and Timon, before that rival fell at the third last fence. Manifesto was left clear to win by 20 lengths from Filbert.

1898 season

Manifesto won a two-mile chase at

Gatwick Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...

in February, before being sold to Mr J.G. Bulteel for £4,000 and being sent to Willie Moore’s yard.

Injury

Disaster struck in the lead up to the 1898 Grand National, when a stable boy left Manifesto’s stable door open and the horse escaped. Although he was recaptured, he managed to badly bruise a fetlock jumping a gate, leading to him missing the race.

1899 Grand National

Manifesto was weighted with 12 stone 7 lbs with his half-sister Gentle Ida the next highest weight on 11 stone 7 lbs. The mare was favourite at 4-1 with Manifesto at 5-1. Also in the line up was the five-year-old Ambush II, owned by the Prince of Wales (future Edward VII). George Williamson was employed to ride Manifesto. Due to frosty ground,

Aintree Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, north-east of Liverpool city centre, in North West England. It i ...

officials spread hay on either side of some of the fences, including at the

. Cruising in mid-field, Manifesto jumped the fence well, but lost his footing on landing. Williamson lost both stirrups and even touched the ground with his feet, but Manifesto was able to gather himself and continue with his jockey intact. Once Gentle Ida fell, Manifesto had a simple task and won by five lengths from Ford Of Fyne, equalling the weight carrying record in the process.

1900 Grand National

By virtue of his two wins, Manifesto was given 12 stone 13 lbs to carry, while Ambush II carried 24 lbs less. The weight told and the younger horse won with Manifesto only third while easing down. Both the win by the Royal horse and Manifesto’s game effort under his burden were applauded by the crowd.

1901 Grand National

Both Ambush II and Manifesto missed the 1901 renewal, and Grudon won in their absence.

1902 Grand National

Manifesto was 14 when he lined up the following year, but he still carried 12 stone 8 lbs and was ridden by

Ernest Piggott Ernest Piggott (1878–1967) was a leading British jump racing jockey, whose family has become one of the leading dynasties in British horseracing. He was three times Champion Jockey and three times Grand National winner. His son, (Ernest) Ke ...

. In heavy ground, he finished third behind Shannon Lass who carried only 10 stone 1 lb. Many observers thought this was his finest effort in the race.

1903 Grand National

Manifesto returned for the seventh time under 12 stone 3 lbs with old jockey George Williamson. He ran a tremendous race to finish third behind Drumcree, holding off the seven-year-old Kirkland (the 1905 winner) for third. Many onlookers were sure this would be Manifesto’s last appearance in the race.

1904 Grand National

Manifesto ran in the National one final time as a sixteen-year-old. Champion Flat jockey

Mornington Cannon Herbert Mornington Cannon (1873–1962), commonly referred to as Morny Cannon, was a six-time Champion jockey in the United Kingdom in the 1890s. He holds the records for the most wins by a jockey in the Craven Stakes, Coronation Stakes and Prin ...

gained permission to ride the horse in his final gallop before the race and

partnered him over the fences. Under 12 stone 1 lb, Manifesto finished in eighth behind

Moifaa Moifaa was a New Zealand-bred racehorse who won the 1904 Grand National by eight lengths. The jockey was Arthur Birch and the owner at the time was Spencer Gollan. After winning the Grand National the 17 hand gelding was purchased for King Edwa ...

, who had travelled all the way from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. ---- ''So Manifesto's 10 year Grand National stats are as follows.'' 1895-4th...1896-Fell...1897-1st...1898-Not Entered...1899-1st...1900-3rd...1901-Not Entered...1902-3rd...1903-3rd...1904-8th ----

Retirement

Manifesto retired from racing immediately after the

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

to a tremendous reception from the crowd. Upon his death, his skeleton was gifted to a veterinary college in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. The Grade 2

Manifesto Novices' Chase The Manifesto Novices' Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Aintree Racecourse, Ain ...

run over 2.5 miles at

is run in his honour.

References

{{reflist 1888 racehorse births Grand National winners Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 8-f