Grand National

Prince Monolulu

Monolulu's cry of "I gotta horse" was part of the race day atmosphere at the Grand National as he worked the crowd handing out tips.

A regular visitor to major race meetings, Monolulu was easy to pick out in the throng of racegoers, wearing baggy pantaloons, an embroidered silk jacket and a plumed headdress.

He claimed he had been born in Addis Ababa, the son of a chieftain of a Jewish tribe, although it’s believed that he was actually of Danish descent.

His association with racing began at the Epsom Derby in 1903.

"I gotta horse"

He began work for an Irish tipster for whom he shouted to attract people.

He soon went solo and took to shouting "I gotta horse" after seeing the religious revivalist Gypsy Daniels shouting “I’ve got heaven” to attract crowds.

He made his name at the 1920 Derby when he tipped Spion Kop to win, placing £25 of his own money on the 20-1 horse, in addition to his winnings he also received gifts from the punters who he’d given tips to prior to the race.

Monolulu claimed that he married six times although records have only been found for three marriages.

'I gotta horse!'

Stephen Guy, of National Museums Liverpool, has vivid memories of receiving a tip from Prince Monolulu at a Grand National meeting in the early 1960s, "It was 1961 and I was a 12-year-old schoolboy visiting the National with my parents and aunt and uncle," he remembers.

"We drove there in my aunt’s A40 saloon and parked in a yard next to the racecourse entrance, I was overwhelmed by the incredible atmosphere of Aintree in full swing.

"Above the din a voice bellowed ‘I gotta horse! I gotta horse!’ It was difficult to make out where it came from but then the most extraordinary figure emerged from the scrum.

"It was a man in the most beautiful robes of blue, gold and red which gleamed in the sunshine.

Prince Monolulu in his plumed headdress

"A dazzling headdress of coloured feather plumes completed the picture.

"Father told me it was Prince Monolulu who could tip the winner in exchange for a silver sixpence – it had to be silver to bring luck.

"I rummaged for a coin and approached the tall figure.

"Monolulu smiled and daintily pulled a small white sealed envelope from under his robes with well-practiced dexterity.

"He had the slickness of an experienced poker-player dealing a card.

"Another thing I remember was that Monolulu was spotlessly clean.

"He waited until I placed the sixpence in the palm of his hand before he gave me the envelope.

"Inside was a piece of paper with a horse’s name written in neat handwriting - I can’t remember the horse but we backed it without success.

"Perhaps the silver sixpence was the clue and I should have gone for Nicholas Silver, which romped home to become only the second grey horse to win the Grand National."

Stephen’s own association with the Grand National has continued he covered the race many times as a news reporter and was there in 1993 when the race was famously declared void after two false starts.  He’s donated to National Museums Liverpool the documents he picked up that day and they will be included in a Grand National display at the new Museum of Liverpool which opens in 2010.

Prince Monolulu collapsed at the Epsom Derby in 1964, he recovered but was taken ill again later that year and died in February 1965. The brightly coloured jackets he wore to races are preserved in the National Horseracing Museum.