Herbert Chevalier Haseltine (American, 1877-1962)
THE CHASER SERGEANT MURPHY
Bronze; rich chocolate-brown patina and gilt highlights on a black marble base
10" x 13" (on a 1 1/2" marble base)
Signed © Herbert Haseltine, dated 1959
Inscribed on marble base: SERGEANT MURPHY 1910. CHESTNUT
GELDING.SIRE GENERAL/SYMONS.DAM ROSE GRAFT BY
ASCETIC BY ROSE STOCK BY/PRESTON PANS BY ROSELEAF BY
FRIGHT. BRED IN IRELAND/WINNER OF GRAND NATIONAL 1923.
Provenance:
Private collection, United Kingdom;
Private collection, Middleburg, VA
Literature: Cormack, Malcolm. Champion Animals: Sculptures by Herbert Haseltine, Richmond, VA: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1996. pp. 30, 31.
Herbert Haseltine, Exhibition of Sculpture of British Champion Animals Catalog, Chicago, IL: Field Museum, 1934. Plate 9
Livingston. Barbara D. New York Thoroughbred."Sanford Stud." Saratoga Springs, NY: New York Thorougbred Breeders, 2001.
Time magazine. "Sport: The Grand National. An American Wins Where Kings and Peers Have Failed." March 31, 1923.
American businessman John Sanford, already known as a prominent breeder and owner of American Thoroughbreds, including 1916 Kentucky Derby winner George Smith, made a bold move in Europe. In 1923 he raced his 13-year-old gelding Sergeant Murphy in the 82nd renewal of the Grand National at Aintree Racecourse. Going off at 100-6 odds Sergeant Murphy became the first Grand National winner owned by an American. The 1938 film titled Sergeant Murphy, starring Ronald Reagan as the owner, is loosely based on the story.