Tag: foinavon

Who, or what, was Foinavon?

Geographically, Foinavon, or strictly Foinaven, is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands. However, since 1984, the seventh and twenty-third fence on the Grand National Course has officially borne the name ‘Foinavon’ in remembrance of the Irish steeplechaser of the same name.

In 1967, Foinavon, the horse, lined up for the Grand National as a genuine 100/1 outsider. As the field approached the now infamous twenty-third fence – ironically, the smallest on the course at 4’6” high and 3’ wide – a riderless horse, Popham Down, ran down the fence, causing a mêlée. The one horse, other than Foinavon, that successfully cleared the fence at the first time of asking, Rondetto, unseated rider on landing, while the remainder of the field fell, unseated, were brought down or pulled-up. By contrast, Foinavon, ridden by John Buckingham, was pulled to the outside and managed to jump the fence cleanly.

Jumping the twenty-fourth fence, the Canal Turn, Foinavon held a 30-length lead and, while many of his rivals set off in vain pursuit, the nine-year-old maintained a sizeable advantage over the remaining obstacles. He eventually crossed the line 15 lengths ahead of his nearest rival to become the first triple-figure winner of the Grand National since Caughoo twenty years earlier.

Do outsiders often win the Grand National?

The Grand National in variably attracts whole host of once-a-year punters dreaming of striking it rich by backing an outsider at hugely rewarding odds. However, such wishful thinkers would do well to remember that, in 172 runnings of the celebrated steeplechase, just five horses have won at treble figure odds. The last two 100/1 winners were Mon Mome (2009) and Foinavon (1967), while further back in Grand National history Caughoo (1947), Gregalach (1929) and Tipperary Tim (1928) also scored equally unlikely victories. It is also worth noting that Tipperary Tim and Foinavon took advantage of mid-race pile-ups and Gregalach and Caughoo were part of the two largest Grand National fields in history, 66 and 57, respectively.

Four horses have won the Grand National at odds of 66/1, the last being Auroras Encore (2013), while the last of the four 50/1 winners was Last Suspect (1985). Seven horses have prevailed at odds of 40/1, the last being Royal Athlete (1995) but, interestingly, all four 33/1 winners, the last of which was Rule The World (2016), have been victorious since the turn of the twenty-first century. So, percentage-wise, in 172 runnings of the Grand National, just 24 winners, or roughly 14%, have been returned at odds of 33/1 or longer. If we also consider 25/1 winners, of which Many Clouds (2015) was the last of fourteen, the number of winners increases to 38, or roughly 22%.