Zoedone (foaled 1877) was a British-bred

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, 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 basic pr ...

who won 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 ...

in 1883 while being ridden by her owner Count Charles Kinsky. Zoedone was a chestnut filly and was initially bought as a hunter for £170 by Edward Clayton who quickly saw the racing potential she had and so he entered her into the

1882 Grand National The 1882 Grand National was the 44th renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 24 March 1882. The race was held on 24 March in some of the worst conditions ever seen in the race's history. ...

. Clayton asked his experienced jockey friend, Arthur Smith to ride Zoedone. She finished third in bad, rainy and snowy conditions but she was noted for he sturdiness, jumping ability and stamina. She followed this by winning the Warwick Grand Annual steeplechase. She was spotted by Count Charles Kinsky while hunting in Melton and the Austrian count bought her in late 1882 for £800, with a £200 contingency, should she win the Grand National. Count Kinksy decided to ride her himself and so both himself and Zoedone went to Upton to be trained by W.H. Jenkins. Zoedone and Kinsky went on to win the

1883 Grand National The 1883 Grand National was the 45th renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 30 March 1883. With only 10 starters, it was the smallest Grand National field in history (excluding the precurs ...

. The race consisted of 20 horses making it the smallest field in Grand National history. In heavy going Kinsky rode Zoedone to an easy victory with the slowest time ever recorded for the Grand National: 11 minutes, 39 seconds. This record would stand for 118 years until

Red Marauder Red Marauder (4 March 1990 – 22 November 2016) was a race horse that won the 2001 Grand National at 33/1. Only four horses completed the race successfully - two of those having been remounted - due partly to the desperate conditions at Aintree ...

ran even slower in 2001.London Evening Standard, Saturday 31 March 1883, Page 3, Column 6 In 1884 Zoedone was ridden by Kinksy again in the Grand National were she placed fourth. The following year, 1885, she was second favorite but she fell when schooling over a hurdle before the race and then fell at Beachers Brook. Rumours persisted that she had been poisoned. Zoedone was retired and sent to the Kinsky stud in Europe.

Grand National record

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1877 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Grand National winners