The five 100-1 outsiders who won the Grand National : Features : Grand National The five 100-1 outsiders who won the Grand National Free Bet Mon Mome was the last 100-1 Grand National winner. Dan Fitch takes a look back at the five 100-1 outsiders, who defied the odds to win the Grand National. The Grand National course at Aintree has a reputation of being the toughest event in racing. Run over a distance of four miles and 876 yards and punctuated by 30 challenging fences, it's little wonder that sometimes the form book can go out of the window and a rank outsider can win the race. Since the race was first ran in 1839, there have been a handful of occasions when a real no-hoper shocked the nation by winning at Aintree. Here are the five 100-1 outsiders to have won the Grand National. 1928 - Tipperary Tim The first 100-1 horse to win the Grand National was Tipperary Tim.

As the race was about to start, Tipperary Tim's jockey William Dutton heard a friend call out "Billy boy, you'll only win if all the others fall down." As fate would have it, 41 of the 42 riders did fall down, leaving Tipperary Tim to win the race ahead of the re-mounted Billy Barton. The two horses were the only finishers, after a melee at the Canal Turn in treacherous weather conditions. 1929 - Gregalach One year after Tipperary Tim made history, Gregalach became the second successive 100-1 shot to win the Grand National. The horse was given such lengthy odds having fallen at Sandown, just eight days prior to the race at Aintree. Gregalach's jockey Robert Everett rode a clever race in which he gradually gained ground on the leaders and overtook the legendary Easter Hero on the second to last fence, before winning the race by six lengths. 1947 - Caughoo As if the fact that the 100-1 outsider Caughoo won the 1947 Grand National isn't exciting enough, legend has it that his victory wasn't exactly legit.

With the Aintree course covered in a thick fog, it has long been rumoured that Caughoo hid behind a fence in the early stages of the race, only to emerge towards the end of the race and win by 20 lengths. Caughoo's jockey Eddie Dempsey was beaten up by another rider after the race, but it seems that this was unwarranted, as photographic evidence emerged years later, clearly showing Caughoo jumping Becher's Brook on two separate occasions. 1967 - Foinavon The most famous 100-1 winner of them all was Foinavon, who entered into Grand National folklore by winning the race amidst a mass pile-up and ended up having a fence named after him. Foinavon was lagging behind the other 27 remaining runners, as they approached the 23rd fence. Popham Down veered wildly to the right as it came to the fence, which resulted in a melee. The only horse to jump the fence first time was Foinavon, who was lagging so far behind that his jockey John Buckingham could steer away from trouble. Although 17 re-mounted horses gave chase, no one could catch Foinavon.

2009 - Mon Mome A total of 42 years passed after Foinavon's victory, before Mon Mome became the next 100-1 winner of the Grand National. Venitia Williams became only the second woman to train a Grand National winner, while Mon Mome's jockey Liam Treadwell rode the horse to victory on his Grand National debut. Foinavon: The 100-1 Outsider Who Stunned the Grand National | VICE Sports April 7, 2016 Jim Weeks Foinavon: The 100-1 Outsider Who Stunned the Grand National The Grand National – as we have already discussed today – is as steeped in controversy as it is in history. The purpose of this piece is not to weigh in on that debate, but to look at a significant moment from the event's past. Questions over its future should be discussed, but a history column is not the place to do so. Held annually at Aintree Racecourse, the National was first run in 1839, less than two years into Queen Victoria's reign and almost half a century before the foundation of the football league.

Few sporting events can claim such an extensive history. Of the 168 runnings, the 1967 race is remembered for perhaps the biggest upset in the National's history. That year, Foinavon – a 100-1 outsider whose very place in the race was questionable – took a shock win, some 15 lengths clear of the field. At one stage, that lead had been more like 30 lengths; in the early stages, however, Foinavon had lagged at the back of the field. It was this that paved the way for his highly improbable victory. Described by his winning jockey as "nice and quiet, very reliable and honest", the horse had previously been owned by Anne Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster, whose other charges included the considerably more successful Arkle. Both were named after mountains, with Foinavon's moniker coming from the Highlands of Scotland. While Arkle had found fame for winning three consecutive Cheltenham Gold Cups between 1964 and '66, Foinavon's form in racing's prestige events was less impressive, albeit not as hopeless as his odds might suggest.

Though it is perhaps apocryphal, one story has him falling at a jump and then, rather than getting to his feet and resuming, remaining on the ground to chew at the grass. READ MORE: Lost in the Desert With Mark Thatcher His does not sound like the character of a Grand National winner, which perhaps explains why the Duchess was happy to sell him on. His entry to the 1967 National came with owner Cyril Watkins and trainer John Kempton. His rider would be Grand National first-timer John Buckingham. He was not initially the man chosen for the job, however. "Two jockeys turned him down because they wanted £500 and John [Kempton] didn't want to pay," Buckingham later told The Telegraph . "It was going to be my first National ride and I'd have ridden Dick's donkey for nothing." It would be unfair to make comparisons between Foinavon and a donkey – the horse had achieved success in other races – and you don't suspect Buckingham was doing so. Nevertheless, his chances of achieving anything in the 1967 National were rated as slim, and Buckingham was likely just happy to be making his debut in the event.

Tellingly, his owner did not attend the race, while trainer John Kempton had travelled to Worcester to ride a horse considered a better bet for success. The bookies' favourite that day was Honey End, ridden by Josh Gifford, with odds of 15/2. The opening stages of the race did not suggest that anything spectacular was about to unfold but, at the 23rd fence, the National was turned on its head. Popham Down – another outsider, with odds of 66-1 – had lost his rider early on and continued along towards the head of pack. At the then-unnamed fence following Becher's Brook, Popham Down veered left and into the path of the following horses. Chaos ensued, with few horses making it over the fence, and those who did throwing their jockeys. The scene bordered on farce, with dismounted jockeys chasing horses in an attempt to remount, while some had come to a standstill on the other side of the fence (among those to fall was Different Class, owned by To Kill a Mockingbird star Gregory Peck).

But amidst this, one horse had time to slow at the fence, take stock of the situation, then calmly leap over and into a huge lead. It was Foinavon. Such a luxury was afforded by the fact that he was some way behind the pack. Had he been near the front, Foinavon would have been consumed by the pile up; it was a rare case of slow and steady actually winning the race. The advantage he'd gained from this effectively guaranteed him the win. Back at the scene of the melee, Gifford had managed to clamber back on to Honey End and begin pursuit of Foinavon. A handful of others were able to do the same, but with an advantage of 30 lengths the surprise leader just needed to keep going. His lead was halved, but Foinavon and Buckingham held on to take a shock with, with Honey End second and Red Alligator (who won the following year) coming in third. "I never usually looked behind, although I did take a peek just after I'd jumped the last to see what the situation was," Buckingham recalled.

After the race, TV commentator Michael O'Hehir – who memorably described Foinavon emerging from the chaos – suggested that the 23rd fence could be renamed after the shock winner. In 1984, Aintree officially made that change, which remains to this day. Ironically, the horse named after a mountain had given his name to the smallest fence on the course. - Foinavon 1967 Grand National /in Featured Legends , Horses , National Legends /by Simone Wright On April 8, 1967, the unfancied 100/1 shot ‘Foinavon’ shocked the Nation with an epic win at Aintree. Defying the odds, Foinavon plodded to victory in the Grand National after all the other runners fell! Even after being gifted a massive lead, Foinavon was nearly outpaced at the finishing post, when many Jockeys who had fallen decided to remount and chase down the plucky no hoper. With a tendency to fall and a history of lackluster jumping, Foinavon seemed like a hopeless choice from the very start.

A notoriously laid back horse, he once partook of a grassy snack after an unsuccessful jump over a fence that resulted in a fall. Foinavon already had been sold early in his career because of poor performance. Despite being trained in Ireland, the expected benefits didn’t pan out. Anne, Duchess of Westminster, owned both Foinavon and Arkle, who was already a legendary winner. Despite a few high-profile wins, Foinavon didn’t prove to be as worthwhile as Arkle to the duchess and he was sold. Subsequent owner John Kempton took it upon himself to make sure Foinavon gained confidence. He took the horse hunting and made sure he was led on daily jumps over a series of training fences. This patience paid off. Despite all odds and doubts about entering Foinavon into the Grand National race, history soon took its course. The Aintree Grand National course is the toughest test of horse and jockey in the United Kingdom. The race must be completed with agility, strength and courage. Foinavon had been compared to a plodding carthorse before, but managed to prove his doubters wrong this fateful day.

The on course bookmakers offered the Aintree crowd odds of 100-to-1 on Foinavon that morning and given his recent bad form and poor jumping ability the odds did not seem terribly generous. Even his owner did not show up to watch the race. On the day of the race, the jockey booked to ride Foinavon couldn’t make the weight. He went on to ride another horse, and jockey John Buckingham stepped in. Many of the jockeys were off at full speed from the beginning. Foinavon started the race slowly, following Honey End, who was favoured to win that day. Fellow longshot Popham Down had just lost his rider and was continuing the race without a jockey . There were several race leaders at this point, including Castle Falls, Rondetto, Kapeno and Rutherfords. The main players were heading for the fence just before Canal Turn. At fence number 23 (or seven, depending on the circuit), a melee occurred that dramatically changed Grand National history.

The fence itself is only four-and-a-half feet, one of the lowest on the course, but Popham Down was tiring and without his jockey onboard he veered violently to his right and slammed into Rutherfords. This started a domino effect, unseating riders and leaving the path strewn with downed jockeys and confused horses. Despite the absolute calamity that lay ahead, Buckingham cleverly steered Foinavon around the mess. Clearing the entire scene, Foinavon rode hard and steady to finish the race in first place. Honey End’s jockey, Josh Gifford, managed to jump again and gave Foinavon a run for his money, ultimately coming in second. Only 18 of the original 44 starters finished the race. Foinavon gained worldwide recognition in one of the most legendary wins in the history of the Grand National. The fence at which Foinavon stole the race is now named in his honour.

BBC Sport - Horse Racing - The story of Foinaven's 1967 Grand National victory Page last updated at 13:19 GMT, Saturday, 10 April 2010 14:19 UK The story of Foinaven's 1967 Grand National victory Cannot play media. Sorry, this media is not available in your territory. Former jockey John Buckingham recalls his Grand National victory in 1967 on board 100-1 shot Foinaven, when almost the entire field failed to clear the 23rd fence. Available to UK users only SEE ALSO Copyright © 2016 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.

History History It is illegal for anyone aged under 18 to gamble Grand National History The Grand National at Aintree has been a British sporting institution since 1839, when a horse called Lottery won the inaugural running and Captain Becher parted company with his horse at a now world famous brook. In those days, the horses had to jump a stone wall, cross a stretch of ploughed land and finish over two hurdles. The race was then known as the Grand Liverpool Steeplechase. The course was founded by William Lynn, a syndicate head and proprietor of the Waterloo Hotel, on land he leased in Aintree from William Molyneux, 2nd Earl of Sefton. Lynn set out a course, built a grandstand, and Lord Sefton laid the foundation stone on 7 February 1829. There is actually much debate regarding the first official Grand National; some leading published historians, including John Pinfold, now prefer the idea that the first running was in 1836 and was won by The Duke. This same horse won again in 1837, while Sir William was the winner in 1838.

These races have long been disregarded because of the belief that they took place at Maghull and not Aintree. However, some historians have unearthed evidence in recent years that suggest those three races were run over the same course at Aintree and were regarded as having been Grand Nationals up until the mid-1860. Contemporary newspaper reports place all the 1836-38 races at Aintree although the 1839 race is the first described as "nationalï¿½. To date, though, calls for the Nationals of 1836ï¿½1838 to be restored to the record books have been unsuccessful. In 1838 and 1839 three significant events occurred to transform the Liverpool race from a small local affair to a national event. Firstly, the Great St. Albans Chase, which had clashed with the steeplechase at Aintree, was not renewed after 1838 leaving a major hole in the chasing calendar. Secondly, the railway arrived in Liverpool, enabling transport to the course by rail for the first time. Finally, a committee was formed to better organise the event.

These factors led to a more highly publicised race in 1839 which attracted a larger field of top quality horses and riders, greater press coverage and an increased attendance on race day. Over time the first three runnings of the event were quickly forgotten to secure the 1839 race its place in history as the first official Grand National. By the 1840s, Lynn's ill-health blunted his enthusiasm for Aintree. Edward Topham, a respected handicapper and prominent member of Lynn's syndicate, began to exert greater influence over the National. He turned the chase into a handicap in 1843 after it had been a weight-for-age race for the first four years, and took over the land lease in 1848. One century later, the Topham family bought the course outright. Later in the century the race was the setting of a thriller by the popular novelist Henry Hawley Smart. The Grand National has produced a colourful array of stories throughout its illustrious past.

Here are our favourites, including some famous video clips: Red Rum It was over 40 years ago now that Red Rum recorded the first of the three victories in the Grand National that earned him pride of place in the record books forever. He still remains the only horse to have won the Grand National three times and, as that statistic suggests, the great horse was a phenomenon. Bred to be a sprinter, Red Rum went on to win the gruelling four-and-a-half mile chase in 1973, 1974 and 1977, as well as finishing second on his other two starts, to become the greatest Grand National performer ever. All of this was achieved after overcoming the debilitating bone disease pedalosteitis, which should have rendered him unraceable. However, fate stepped in: Red Rum was at probably the only yard in the country where the training took place on a beach. The sea water, into which trainer Donald ï¿½Gingerï¿½ McCain banished Red Rum after viewing the hobbling horse, worked an amazing transformation. On 31 March, 1973, he started 9/1 favourite for his first Grand National.

However, by the time the runners had reached the Chair the giant Australian chaser, Crisp, who was shouldering top weight of 12st (a weight that is now forbidden in the National), had built up a massive lead and appeared unstoppable with four fences to go. But, conceding 23lb to Red Rum, his stamina started to wane and he slowly began to falter at the famous Elbow after being more than 15 lengths in front of his rival at the last. Red Rum gradually wore Crisp down, getting up on the line to beat him by three-quarters of a length in a then record time of 9 min 1.9 sec, knocking nearly 20 seconds off Golden Miller's previous best under 12st 2lb in 1934 - this new record would stand for the next 16 years. You can watch this incredible race and finish here: Red Rum was never better than in the 1973/74 season when he won four more races before collecting his second Grand National, this time carrying the maximum weight of 12st.

Giving 1lb to the Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, L'Escargot, Red Rum started third favourite at 11/1, racing off a mark nearly two stone higher than for his 1973 victory. He was the first to achieve the double since Reynoldstown in 1936. Only three weeks later, Red Rum won the Scottish Grand National as the 11/8 favourite under 11st 13lb. It was then presumed that, having reached a zenith, Red Rum's talent would gradually decline in keeping with the rolling years. Between the autumn of 1974 and the spring of 1976, he ran in 18 chases, winning twice and being placed seven times. But he also gallantly failed to resist first L'Escargot and then Rag Trade in the 1975 and 1976 Grand National's. The 1976/77 season began dismally. After an initial small win at Carlisle, Red Rum appeared totally lacklustre in his next four races, and even McCain began to think that he might have "gone".

A foul winter had waterlogged the Southport sands, making them useless for training purposes, but Red Rum finally showed something like his old sparkle in his prep race for the 1977 Grand National, the Greenall Whitley Chase at Haydock. Worries about the now 12-year-old gelding's unwonted bulk abated when, in his last gallop before Aintree, he dazzled McCain and assorted members of the press who had gathered to watch. Ridden by Tommy Stack, as he had been in 1976, Red Rum tackled his fifth Grand National in 1977. In the lead from the eighth last, Red Rum appeared momentarily to have a challenger in Churchtown Boy, but the latter's mistake at the third last compared with Red Rum's foot-perfect agility soon settled things in Rummyï¿½s favour.

The noise of the cheering crowd was deafening as he led up the long run-in, winning by 25 lengths under 11st 8lb and you can watch the historic race below: In 1976, Red Rum had given Eyecatcher 17lb and beat her by eight lengths; in 1977, he gave her 21lb and a 31-length beating, rating an improvement at the age of 12 of two stone. The treble, five years in the making, had been achieved. The celebrations in Southport which received the three-time Grand National winner home were long and rapturous. But the greatest Aintree horse of all time was not yet finished. Up until the morning of the 1978 Grand National, Red Rum was being trained for a sixth attempt at the great race. He had run well all season, amassing two seconds and a fourth under mighty weights in his five races. But, after his customary pre-National work-out on the day before the big race, Red Rum pulled up lame. The problem proved to be a hairline fracture and the horse had to be retired. Retired, that is, from the realm of racing.

But Red Rum's career as a celebrity continued - a role to which he was as well-adapted as to tackling the Aintree fences. He thrived as the centre of attention, as anyone who saw the 1977 episode of Sports Personality of the Year Awards can testify. Hearing the voice of Tommy Stack, who was speaking from his hospital bed with a broken pelvis, Red Rum immediately pricked his ears, displaying the great intelligence and showmanship so evident in the horse throughout his life. He went on to lead the parade in many Grand Nationals. Red Rum died on Wednesday, October 18, 1995 and was buried by the winning post on Aintree's Grand National course. His grave is marked by an engraved stone listing his Grand National record, and a life-size bronze commemorates this legendary competitor, along with a race staged at the Grand National meeting, the Red Rum Chase, named in the great horse's memory. Aldaniti There was hardly a dry eye among the crowd when Aldaniti won the Grand National in 1981. It was a victory for both courage and determination in the face of adversity.

In late 1979, Bob Champion, the successful jockey, was told that he had cancer and only months to live, while Aldaniti had almost been retired because of leg trouble. Against all the odds, the gallant partnership held on to beat Spartan Missile, ridden by John Thorne, a 54-year-old grandfather and amateur rider. The winner's true-life story inspired the 1983 film Champions, starring John Hurt. Aldaniti died at the age of 27 in March, 1997. Bob Champion made a full recovery and, with the help of Aldaniti, has raised millions of pounds for cancer research. Aldaniti's name was a jumble from the names of four grandchildren of his breeder, Tommy Barron: ALastair and DAvid Cook plus NIcola and TImothy Barron. The Pitmans The Pitman family has a special association with the Grand National. In 1983, Jenny Pitman became the first woman to train a winner of the race when Corbiere beat Greasepaint.

She followed up this victory in 1995 with Royal Athlete who succeeded at the long odds of 40/1, but experienced heartbreak when Esha Ness "won" the 1993 void race. Mark, her son, must have gone through similar emotions when he was caught in the dying strides by Seagram whilst riding Garrison Savannah in 1991, also trained by his mother. Garrison Savannah was bidding for an historic double ï¿½ and to emulate the great Golden Miller ï¿½ having won the Cheltenham Gold Cup a few weeks earlier. Years earlier, Richard Pitman, then-husband to Jenny and Mark's father, was caught even closer to the winning post by Red Rum, the Aintree specialist, when he partnered the gallant top weight Crisp in 1973. Mrs Pitman was awarded an OBE in the 1998 New Year's Honours List and in the same year fought a successful battle against cancer.

She has now retired from training as, for the time being, has her son Mark who carried on the family tradition for a while (he trained Smarty to finish second in 2001 when only four horses completed the course in terrible conditions, and sixth in 2004). Jenny Pitman was also one of the first batch of inductees to the Grand National Legends (the Hall of Fame-style initiative that was established in 2010), along with Red Rum and his trainer, Ginger McCain. Watch Corbiere win the 1983 Grand National ahead of Greasepaint: Devon Loch The 1956 National is remembered more for the defeat of Devon Loch than for the victory of ESB. Owned by Her Majesty The Queen Mother, Devon Loch had the race won when he inexplicably gave a half-leap just 50 yards from the finish, sprawling and almost unseating Dick Francis, the unfortunate jockey, and leaving the crowd stunned. Afterwards, The Queen Mother famously said "That's racing". Debate still rages as to why the incident happened - according to some reports, Devon Loch suffered a cramp in the hindquarters and this caused the collapse.

However, other reports claim that a shadow thrown by the water jump (which horses only jump on the first circuit of the Aintree course) may have confused Devon Loch into thinking another leap was required and - unsure as to whether he should or not - he half-jumped and collapsed. Reports that the horse had suffered a heart attack were dismissed, as Devon Loch recovered far too quickly for that to have been the case. Whatever the truth, the incident so puzzled Francis that he became a thriller writer, inventing mysteries himself and over the decades Francis learned to be as philosophical. As did his wife Mary who once said that had he won the Grand National there would have been no bestselling autobiography and no thrillers. "As I said in my autobiography, an ambulance came by and the driver said, ï¿½Jump in the back!ï¿½ I was never more pleased to get away from all the people who were rushing towards me. What happened? Iï¿½ve thought about it time and time again...I remember jumping the last fence and I could hear the crescendo of cheering building up in the stands. There were 500,000 people there that day. They were all cheering for the Queen Mother.

She was there and the Queen was there and Princess Margaret was there." Francis is quoted as saying. "I never thought about it at the time but I heard them cheering and I just rode to the finish. I was winning easily. I didnï¿½t have to pick up my stick or anything like that. Iï¿½ve looked at the newsreel time and again and as the horse approaches the water jump ï¿½ which this time round he didnï¿½t need to cross ï¿½ you can see him prick up his ears and gallop past it. As he pricked up its ears ï¿½ Christ! ï¿½ his hindquarters refused to act and down he went on to his belly. How I didnï¿½t fall off him I donï¿½t know." Devon Loch is a metaphor now used in modern day sports and otherwise to explain the sudden, last-minute failure of teams or a sportsman to complete an expected victory, e.g. "United can only hope Arsenal do a Devon Loch." Dick Francis died of natural causes on 14 February 2010 at his Caribbean home in Grand Cayman, by which time he had written 40 international best-sellers.

Watch Devon Loch sprawl on the run-in to the 1956 Grand National, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory and allowing ESB to claim an unlikely success: Devon Loch spread-eagled on the run-in at the 1956 Grand National Foinavon Foinavon sensationally won the 1967 National in bizarre circumstances. At the smallest fence on the second circuit, the 23rd, the riderless Popham Down cut right across the course causing a pile-up that almost brought the entire field to a standstill. John Buckingham, Foinavon's jockey, was able to steer his mount wide of the melee and thus won on the 100/1 outsider. The Aintree executive named the fence in honour of the horse - fence 7 or 23 (depending on the circuit), at 4ft 6in, one of the smallest jumps on the course, is situated between the more daunting Becher's Brook and the Canal Turn. Foinavon has sometimes been likened to a slow plodding carthorse, but records show that his 1967 winning time was one of the fastest in this gruelling race.

Equally, this so called no-hoper had taken part in some top class races before attempting the Grand National and he had finished fourth in a King George and took part in a Gold Cup at Cheltenham, so perhaps his odds of 100/1 may have been a bit generous (although the Tote SP was 444/1). Nevertheless, his owner was so unenthusiastic about his chances that he was not even at Aintree for the great race. Buckingham said later that at the time he did not realise that they were the only pair to jump the fence at the first attempt but he just kept going. Although some 17 horses remounted and finished the race the distance Foinavon had "stolen" at the obstacle meant that he led over the final seven fences to go on to collect his prize, 15 lengths clear of the fast-closing favourite, Honey End, and Red Alligator, who went on to win in 1968. Foinavon did also run in the following year's Grand National but fell or was brought down at the water jump.

Foinavon was at one time owned by Anne, Duchess of Westminster, whose colours were also carried by the much superior Arkle - both were named after Scottish mountains. She also owned Last Suspect who won the 1985 Grand National. Watch the 1967 Grand National, courtesy of British Pathï¿½ (scroll to around 1 minutes, 20 seconds to see all the drama unfold): The commentary of Michael O'Hehir of the carnage at the 23rd fence ranks among the most famous in the history of BBC televised sport and is often shown when BBC Sport puts together nostalgic montages of great sporting moments. O'Hehir received particular respect from his peers for the speed and unflustered coolness with which he identified Foinavon as the horse emerging from the mï¿½lï¿½e. O'Hehir later said in an interview that it was precisely the unfamiliarity of Foinavon's colours that made him so instantly recognisable during the race.

O'Hehir visited the weighing room before the race, as is the custom of many National commentators, to familiarise himself more clearly with the colours of the silks but found himself completely stumped when looking at the black with red and yellow braces being worn by John Buckingham. Eventually O'Hehir had to ask Buckingham who his mount was. A confused O'Hehir said that his racecard showed two-tone green quarters, as worn by the rider in the Cheltenham Gold Cup a few weeks earlier, but Buckingham explained that the owner felt green to be unlucky and so had registered new colours for the National. The "Iron" Duke of Alburquerque Beltrï¿½n Alfonso Osorio y Dï¿½ez de Rivera, known as the "Iron" Duke of Albuquerque (1918-1994), surely ranks as the worst jockey in horse-racing history. After receiving a film of the Grand National as a gift for his eighth birthday, the Duke became obsessed with it: "I said then that I would win that race one day," he later recalled. He nearly died trying.

This magnificently barking mad Spanish aristocrat and amateur jockey entered the Grand National seven times with impressively consistent results. Generally he would start with the others, gallop briefly and then wake up in the Royal Liverpool Infirmary (where apparently he always booked a private room when he rode in the race). Each year, Sir Peter O'Sullevan would gravely intone: "And the Duke of Albuquerque's gone". On his first attempt in 1952, he fell from his horse at the sixth fence, nearly broke his neck and woke up later in hospital with a cracked vertebra. His next try was in 1963, when he fell from his horse yet again, this time at the fourth fence. Undeterred, he returned in 1965 but again fell from his horse after it collapsed underneath him, breaking his leg. His ineptitude was so apparent that in 1963 bookies even offered odds of 66/1 - against him even finishing the race atop his horse! He returned in 1973 when his stirrup broke, although he clung on for eight fences before being sent into inevitable orbit.

In 1974, after having sixteen screws removed from a leg he had broken after falling in another race, he also fell while training for the Grand National and broke his collarbone. Nevertheless, he then competed in a plaster cast, this time actually managing to finish the race for the only time in his splendid career, but only in eighth (and last) place aboard Nereo: "I sat like a sack of potatoes and gave the horse no help" he said after the race. One anecdote from this race is that he barged into Ron Barry at the second Canal Turn; Barry said "What the f*** are you doing?" to which he replied: "My dear chap I haven't a clue...I've never got this far before!" In 1976, he sustained his most serious injuries after being trampled in a race by several other horses. He suffered seven broken ribs, several fractured vertebrae, a broken wrist and thigh, and a major concussion, and was in a coma for two days. After recovering he announced, at the age of 57, that he planned to race yet again. Race organisers wisely revoked his license "for his own safety".

Though the Iron Duke never won the Grand National, he certainly broke more bones than any other jockey in attempting to do so. Notable Dates In Grand National History 1837: THE DUKE wins the first Great Liverpool Steeplechase at Maghull, some three miles from the present site of Aintree racecourse. 1839: Aintree becomes the new home for the event, with LOTTERY carrying off the prize and Captain Martin Becher christening the now-famous brook as he crawls in for safety after a fall. 1847: MATTHEW records the first Irish-trained victory on the day the race is officially named the Grand National. 1887: GAMECOCK wins the National at 20-1 and follows up by winning the Champion Chase over the big fences the very next day. 1897: MANIFESTO, the 6-1 favourite, records the first of his two wins in the race. He ran eight times up to the age of 16, also finishing third three times and fourth once. 1907: Jockey Alf Newey brings EREMON home in front, despite riding without stirrups from the second fence.

1927: Ted Leader rides SPRIG to a popular victory in the first Grand National to be covered by a BBC radio commentary. 1928: On the day of the race, before it had begun, TIPPERARY TIM'S jockey William Dutton heard a friend call out to him: "Billy boy, you'll only win if all the others fall down!ï¿½. These words turned out to be true, as 41 of the 42 starters fell during the race. It was run during misty weather conditions with the going very heavy. As the field approached the Canal Turn on the first circuit, Easter Hero fell, causing a pile-up from which only seven horses emerged with seated jockeys. By the penultimate fence this number had reduced to three, with Great Span looking most likely to win ahead of Billy Barton and Tipperary Tim. Great Span's saddle then slipped, leaving Billy Barton in the lead until he too then fell. Although Billy Barton's jockey, Tommy Cullinan, managed to remount and complete the race, it was Tipperary Tim who came in first at odds of 100-1.

With only two riders completing the course, this remains a record for the fewest number of finishers. 1934: The legendary GOLDEN MILLER becomes the only horse ever to win the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup in the same season, carrying 12st 2lb to victory in record time. In the 1934 Grand National, Golden Miller set a new course record of 9 min 20.4s. That win was in the middle of five consecutive Cheltenham Gold Cup victories 1947: CAUGHOO beats 56 opponents at a mist-shrouded Aintree and is then accused of only going round once. 1956: DEVON LOCH and jockey Dick Francis, looking certain to give The Queen Mother victory when clear on the run-in, suddenly sprawl flat on the ground yards from the winning post, allowing ESB to win. 1967: The year of the horrific pile-up at the 23rd. John Buckingham and complete outsider FOINAVON avoid the melee and gallop on to a 100-1 win.

1974: Grand National character the Duke of Alburquerque completes the course for the one and only time in numerous attempts on NEREO, despite breaking his collarbone only a week before the race. 1977: The incomparable RED RUM rewrites the record books with his historic third victory. 'Rummy' had five runs, with three wins and two seconds, from the age of eight to 12. 1979: RUBSTIC makes history by becoming the first Scottish-trained winner. His homecoming party was heralded by a piper leading him back to the hamlet of Denholm, Roxburghshire. 1981: ALDANITI, nursed back from career-threatening injury three times, wins a fairytale National ridden by Bob Champion, who fought, and beat, cancer. 1982: Dick Saunders, at the age of 48, becomes the oldest winning jockey on GRITTAR. Geraldine Rees becomes the first woman to complete the course, riding the leg-weary CHEERS. 1983: Years of doubt about the Grand National's future are ended when the Jockey Club, helped by public donations, buys the course.

CORBIERE's victory ensures Jenny Pitman goes into the history books as the first woman to train the winner. 1987: Jim Joel becomes the oldest winning owner at 92. He is on his way back from South Africa when MAORI VENTURE wins a thrilling race from The Tsarevich. 1993: The darkest day in the history of the National. There is chaos after a second false start as 30 out of the 39 jockeys began the race despite a false start being called, leading to a void result for the seven horses who finished. John White passes the post first on the Jenny Pitman-trained ESHA NESS, only to discover the race has been declared void. The 1993 Grand National - the race that never was. Racing commentator Sir Peter O'Sullevan described it as "the greatest disaster in the history of the Grand National" 1994: MIINNEHOMA, owned by comedian Freddie Starr, gives multiple champion trainer Martin Pipe his first National victory, and 51-year-old grandmother Rosemary Henderson completes the course on her own horse FIDDLERS PIKE, who finishes fifth.

1995: Jenny Pitman, the first lady of Aintree, gains her second success - two years after her first - with ROYAL ATHLETE. 1997: The National has to be postponed after two coded bomb threats were received from the IRA. The course was secured by police who then evacuated jockeys, race personnel, and local residents along with 60,000 spectators. Cars and coaches were locked in the course grounds, leaving some 20,000 people without their vehicles over the weekend. With limited accommodation available in the city, local residents opened their doors and took in many of those stranded. This prompted tabloid headlines such as "We'll fight them on the Becher's", in reference to Winston Churchill's famous war-time speech. The race was run 48 hours later on the Monday, with the meeting organisers offering 20,000 tickets with free admission. The rearranged race was won in spectacular style by 14/1 shot LORD GYLLENE.

A mass evacuation of Aintree racecourse took place on Saturday 5 April 1997 1999: Father-and-son trainer-jockey team Tommy and Paul Carberry combine to land a first Irish win for 24 years with BOBBYJO. 2000: Ted and 20-year-old Ruby Walsh emulate the feat of their compatriots 12 months previously as PAPILLON lands a gamble, backed from a morning 33-1 into 10-1 before taking the prize. 2001: RED MARAUDER and Smarty are the only horses to put in clear rounds in a race run in atrocious conditions, though all horses return unscathed. 2003: MONTY'S PASS lands a massive gamble, with owner Mike Fuller netting close to ï¿½1million from ante-post bets. The horse is backed from 40-1 into 16-1 and romps home. 2004: Ginger McCain, veteran trainer of Red Rum, enjoys an emotional victory as 12-year-old AMBERLEIGH HOUSE lands the spoils, having been third in 2003.

2005: HEDGEHUNTER becomes the first horse since Corbiere in 1983 to carry more than 11st to victory in the great race, romping clear in great style under Ruby Walsh to slam Royal Auclair by 14 lengths. John Smithï¿½s take over from Martell as the main sponsor. 2006: John Smith's launched the John Smith's People's Race which gave ten members of the public the chance to ride in a flat race at Aintree on Grand National day. In total, thirty members of the public took part in the event before it was discontinued in 2010. 2008: COMPLY OR DIE allows David Pipe to join his legendary father, Martin, in the record books as a National-winning trainer in just his second season. The race also carries record prize money of ï¿½800,000. 2009: MON MOME becomes the biggest-priced winner since Foinavon when powering home at 100-1 for trainer Venetia Williams and jockey Liam Treadwell, who was having his first ride in the race.

2010: DON'T PUSH IT, trained by Jonjo O'Neill and owned by legendary gambler JP McManus, provides perennial champion jockey Tony McCoy with his first success at the 15th attempt. McCoy went on to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award that year ï¿½ the first person from the world of horse racing to do so. The 2010 renewal was also the first horse race to be televised in HD in the UK. 2011: Another emotional victory as BALLABRIGGSï¿½ success on a sweltering day at Aintree allows Donald McCain to join his legendary father, Ginger, who trained both Red Rum and Amberleigh House, in the Grand National record books. 2012: One of the closest finishes in the raceï¿½s illustrious history sees NEPTUNE COLLOGNES beat Sunyhillboy by a nose, giving Paul Nicholls his first Grand National success. Katie Walsh achieves the highest finishing position by a lady jockey by claiming third place on Seabass, trained by her father Ted.

2013: Legendary showjumper Harvey Smith and his wife Sue send out 66-1 AURORAS ENCORE to cause a shock in a race in which only two of the forty runners fell on the first circuit. Fellow trainer Evan Williams has to settle for a place for the fifth time in as many years. 2014: Part time trainer, Dr Richard Newland, landed the first ever ï¿½1 million renewal of the race, courtesy of PINEAU DE RE. Williamï¿½s amazing run continued with Alvarado fourth for the Welsh handler. 2015: Incredibly, another place for Williams with Alvarado fourth again behind MANY CLOUDS, who made a mockery of the trends as an eight year old carrying 11st 9lbs to land another victory in the race for Trevor Hemmings.

© Where To Bet Ltd 2004-16 (contact us: wheretobet@hotmail.com) Grand National 2013: the full story of Foinavon's 100-1 shock win in 1967, from Aintree to North Sea oil rig - Telegraph Horse Racing Grand National 2013: the full story of Foinavon's 100-1 shock win in 1967, from Aintree to North Sea oil rig Whatever happens in Saturday’s John Smith’s Grand National – and I hope these are not famous last words – it is unlikely there will be a repeat of the calamity which befell the whole field, with the exception of Foinavon, in the 1967 race.

Chaos: the 1967 Grand National field come to grief at the 23rd fence By Marcus Armytage 7:15AM BST 02 Apr 2013 The unlikely story of that race is now told by David Owen, former sports editor of the Financial Times, in Foinavon – The Story Of The Grand National’s Biggest Upset (Wisden Sports Writing £18.99). The race, and the famous pile-up at the fence which now bear's the horse's name, is the first thing Owen can remember ever seeing on television, a day after his seventh birthday. He was half-watching the race when Michael O’Heir’s “irrepressible voice acquired an incredulous tone as he rattled out his now famous roll call of fallen horses” and he looked up to see pictures of jockeys thrown over the fence “flapping around like beached fish”. “It is a bit like watching your first football match and the score is 9-8,” he explained yesterday. “You don’t realise something like that will never happen again.

The older I got the more special it was.” By chance in the mid-80s Owen went to live in the same village as the winning jockey John Buckingham and Owen eventually found an excuse to interview him. “There are a small number of fundamental stories in sport and ‘outsider wins’ don’t come any bigger than this,” he added. Related Articles National needs clean bill of health 30 Mar 2013 Apart from tracking down trainer John Kempton and others involved with Foinavon and the race, Owen has also dug up people who backed Foinavon at 100-1 and, in contrast, an unfortunate man who organised a sweepstake on the Orion oil platform in the North Sea. He sold all 44 runners and, as a payment to himself for the effort of organising the sweepstake, kept one of the favourites for himself. However his boss was furious that he had not had the opportunity to buy a ticket so he decided to duplicate one of the complete no hopers and sold a second ticket for Foinavon.

In the tea room at the end of the race two men, rather than one, were jumping for joy, the original ticket holder and his boss and the organiser had to pay out the pot twice, once from his own pay, which effectively left him two weeks wages out of pocket. Owen is not a racing man through and through which is one of the book’s strengths. It is full of fascinating stories and is up there among the best racing books I have read in a long time. MY RACE AGAINST TIME Once more unto the breach dear friends. I was going to put my feet up during this year’s veterans’ charity race at Aintree on Saturday but was swayed by the fact that it could be the last such race in aid of the Bob Champion Cancer Trust. I have been riding out intermittently for Nicky Henderson and have asked him to provide a horse which will carry me to about 50 yards out so I do not have to push very far. He has come up with the lovely King’s Destiny.

Having run out of National ‘leg-ends’ (the doctor has retired Richard Pitman and Ben de Haan has recently broken his neck) the race will now be six of one (National winners) and half a dozen of the other (former top Flat jockeys). The last time I rode ‘against’ the Hills twins, Michael and Richard, was in the hunting field aged eight, 40 years ago. You can sponsor me at DUFF’S DELIGHT The Prime Minister, David Cameron, was spotted walking the point-to-point course at Lockinge, Wantage, on Friday ahead of yesterday’s meeting, although constituency business kept him from attending the popular Easter Monday venue. Having given debutant Thady Duff the big build-up in previous columns I can now report that he and the more experienced Lough Derg finished second in the ‘restricted’ – that is restricted to horses qualified with certain hunts rather than riders of restricted ability – race, raising nearly £3,000 for the Injured Jockeys Fund in the process. Apart from Lough Derg being badly hampered – by his jockey at the third – it was a copybook round and Duff wants to go again.

Learn and talk about Foinavon, Grand National winners, National Hunt racehorses, Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom, Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom 5 External links 1967 Grand National[ edit ] Foinavon, ridden by John Buckingham , was a rank outsider at odds of 100/1 to win the 1967 Grand National , and his owner Cyril Watkins had such little belief in his chances that he was not even at the course. For the first circuit and a half, Foinavon played no real part in the proceedings, in which 28 of the 44 starters had safely survived past the 22nd fence ( Becher's Brook ). However, the most dramatic moment of the race, and perhaps of Grand National history, came when a loose horse — Popham Down, who had been hampered and unseated his rider at the first fence — veered dramatically to his right at the 23rd fence, slamming into Rutherfords and unseating his jockey Johnny Leech. A pile-up ensued.

Rondetto, Norther, Kirtle Lad, Princeful, Leedsy and other horses hit the ground, then began running up and down the fence preventing others from jumping it, and bringing the race effectively to a halt. Some horses even began running in the wrong direction, back the way they had come. Foinavon had been lagging so far behind that Buckingham had time to steer his mount clear of the chaos and jump on the wide outside, long before any of the others could remount or attempt the fence again. At the next obstacle, the Canal Turn , Buckingham looked back in disbelief at the 30- length lead he held with just six fences remaining. 17 remounted horses gave chase, [2] and 15/2 favourite Honey End closed the gap to within 20 lengths by the final fence, but Foinavon was able to maintain this lead over the run-in. Red Alligator, who went on to win in 1968, was a distant third. [3] The incident is almost always replayed on Grand National day, and it has also gained fame owing to the distinctive commentary of Michael O'Hehir .

[4] After the race, O'Hehir suggested that with obstacles like Becher's Brook and Valentine's Brook, the 23rd might one day be named after Foinavon. In 1984, the Aintree executive officially named the 7th/23rd fence (the smallest on the course at 4 ft 6 in) the Foinavon fence. [5] O'Hehir's commentary[ edit ] Irish commentator Michael O'Hehir was better known as a Gaelic football commentator but often covered racing and was brought in to cover the race at the far end of the course, going to Becher's Brook and coming away from Valentine's. His commentary of the carnage at the 23rd fence ranks among the most famous in the history of BBC televised sport and is often shown when BBC Sport puts together nostalgic montages of great sporting moments. O'Hehir received particular respect from his peers for the speed and unflustered coolness with which he identified Foinavon as the horse emerging from the mêlée.

O'Hehir later said in an interview that it was precisely the unfamiliarity of Foinavon's colours that made him so instantly recognisable during the race. O'Hehir visited the weighing room before the race, as is the custom of many National commentators, to familiarise himself more clearly with the colours of the silks but found himself completely stumped when looking at the black with red and yellow braces being worn by John Buckingham. Eventually O'Hehir had to ask Buckingham who his mount was. A confused O'Hehir said that his racecard showed two-tone green quarters for Foinavon, as worn by the rider in the Cheltenham Gold Cup a few weeks earlier, but Buckingham explained that the owner felt green to be unlucky and so had registered new colours for the National. [6] Defence[ edit ] Foinavon defended his title in the 1968 Grand National but was brought down at the 16th fence, the water jump. His jockey that year was Phil Harvey; Buckingham had a broken arm.

[7] Similar incidents[ edit ] A similar incident occurred in 2001 when Red Marauder won the race from Smarty after they were left clear following a pile up at the Canal Turn on the first circuit, and after the other remaining horses fell or were brought down by the 20th fence. [8] It was also reminiscent of the 1928 Grand National , when Tipperary Tim was the only horse to finish the race without being remounted, also at odds of 100-1. [9]

Question: Who rode the 100 to 1 outsider Foinavon to victory in the 1967 Grand National
Answer: John Buckingham