Foinavon
Encyclopedia
Foinavon was a relatively undistinguished Irish racehorse, until he became famous for winning the Grand National
Grand National
The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...

 in 1967
1967 Grand National
Much of the early stages of the race were inconsequential, with 28 of the 44 competitors having safely cleared the 22nd fence, Becher's Brook on the second circuit....

 after the rest of the field fell, refused or were hampered or brought down in a mêlée at the 23rd fence. He was at one time owned by Anne, Duchess of Westminster, whose colours were also carried by the legendary Arkle
Arkle
Arkle was a famous Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. A bay gelding by Archive out of Bright Cherry, his grandsire was the unbeaten flat racehorse and prepotent sire Nearco. Arkle was bred at Ballymacoll Stud, County Meath by Mrs. Mary Alison Baker of Malahow House, near Naul, County Dublin...

. Both were named after Scottish mountains.

1967 Grand National

Foinavon, ridden by jockey John Buckingham, was a rank outsider at odds of 100/1 to win the 1967 Grand National
1967 Grand National
Much of the early stages of the race were inconsequential, with 28 of the 44 competitors having safely cleared the 22nd fence, Becher's Brook on the second circuit....

, 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 proceedings, and the race was largely inconsequential with 28 of the 44 starters safely over the 22nd fence (Becher's Brook
Becher's Brook
Becher's Brook is a fence jumped during the Grand National, a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. It is jumped twice during the race, as the sixth and 22nd fence, as well as on four other occasions during the year...

). 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 its 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 far enough 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
Canal Turn
The Canal Turn is a fence on Aintree Racecourse's National Course and thus is jumped during the Grand National steeplechase which is held annually at the racecourse near Liverpool, England....

, Buckingham looked back in disbelief at the 100-length lead he held with just six fences remaining. 17 remounted horses gave chase, and 15/2 favourite Honey End closed the gap to within 20 lengths by the final fence, but Foinavon was fresh enough to maintain this lead over the run-in. Red Alligator, who went on to win in 1968, was a distant third.

The incident is almost always replayed by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 on Grand National day and it has also gained fame owing to the distinctive commentary of Michael O'Hehir
Michael O'Hehir
Michael James Hehir was an Irish hurling, football and horse racing commentator and journalist. Between 1938 and 1985 his enthusiasm and a memorable turn of phrase endeared him to many...

. After the race, O'Hehir suggested that with obstacles like Becher's Brook
Becher's Brook
Becher's Brook is a fence jumped during the Grand National, a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. It is jumped twice during the race, as the sixth and 22nd fence, as well as on four other occasions during the year...

 and Valentine's, 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 4ft 6in) the Foinavon fence.

O'Hehir's commentary

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 television 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, as worn by the rider in the Cheltenham Gold Cup
Cheltenham Gold Cup
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in the United Kingdom which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles and 2½ furlongs , and during its running there are twenty-two fences to be jumped...

 a few weeks earlier, but Buckingham explained that the owner felt green to be unlucky and so had registered new colours for the National.

Defence

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.

Similar incidents

A similar incident occurred in 2001
2001 Grand National
The 2001 Grand National was the 154th official renewal of the world-famous Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 7 April 2001....

 when Red Marauder
Red Marauder
Red Marauder is a Thoroughbred race horse that won a dramatic 2001 renewal of the Grand National. Only four horses completed the race successfully - two of those having been remounted - due partly to the desperate conditions at Aintree and mainly thanks to the loose horse Paddy's Return causing...

 won 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.

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.

External links

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