James Hogan

[Peter57]

Hi i'm new to this site so i'm not sure if i'm posting in the right place but - i've got to start somewhere.
I'm trying to trace a relative - James Hogan - that i can find very few facts about. I know he was a jockey who in 1924 rode a horse in the grand national. The horse was called Sergeant Murphy and had won the race the previous year. Can anyone help ? any information or advice would be welcome. Thanks

[staunton]

Hi Peter,
I can start you off with a bit of information Sgt. Murphy was the first American bred horse to win the Grand National, as you say in 1923.

[Jan1954]

Hello Peter - welcome to Brit-Gen,

I have been having abit of a google and it seems that James (A.J.) Hogan rode in Leopardstown for Irish horse owners. Have you contacted either the UK Jockey Club or the the Irish equivalent of the Jockey Club at all to see if they are able to help?

Put https://www. in front of both of these:
thejockeyclub.co.uk/
turfclub.ie/site/

[Coromandel]

You can watch Pathé newsreel footage of the 1924 Grand National here:

https://www.
britishpathe.com/record.php?id=20420

Also, if you have access to the Times Digital Archive 1785-1985 (perhaps via your local library) you will find many mentions of a 'J. Hogan jun.' in lists of racing results in the 1920s.

[Mutley]

Loads of interesting snippets if you google, well about the horse if not the rider, though there are pictures of both.

www.
flickr.com/photos/mando_gal/841343521/in/set-72157600770844121

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igfAF1j8JT8

www.
edunlop.com/history.html

https://
cgi.ebay.co.uk/Irish-Jockey-JAMES-HOGAN-Jnr-Caricature-1925-/180664380911

[Peter57]

Thanks for that information. I've checked with my local library and they dont have access to the archive you mention but apparently Birmingham does and they suggest that it is only large city libraries that will have subscription to it. Something to do with funding...

[Peter57]

Thanks for that info. Yes i've tried both of them and keep getting referred to the National Horse Racing Museum in Newmarket who do have 'some' records but charge a £36 fee payable in advance with no promise of results. So i'll try rooting around a bit more on my own first.

[Peter57]

Thanks for that. It was my neice who bought the card on ebay - astonishing coincidence - which has informed me enough to start these researches on him.

[Mutley]

Thanks for that. It was my neice who bought the card on ebay - astonishing coincidence - which has informed me enough to start these researches on him.

The item description said that there was some history on the back of the card. I wondered if it gave an age for James, he must have been in the 1911 census

[Peter57]

Yes there was some history but only one fact - that he rode the horse Sergeant Major in the 1924 Grand National - a year after the horse became the first American to win the race. I know he was Irish and probably left Ireland around 1921-2 but without more details it is beyond me to pin down which one he is of the very many James Hogan's listed in the Irish census of either 1901 or 1911. Thanks for your comment anyway and please let me know if you have any ideas.