Everyone is anxiously waiting for the Grand National 2021 which is set to take place in April this year. This is especially true for racing enthusiasts who plan to mix their sporting experience with betting, as the Grand National gives so many opportunities for punters.
1- Caughoo (1947)
Caughoo was an obscure name in horse racing before he entered the 1947 Grand National. He had won the Ulster National twice but that was not enough to be rated favourably in the prestigious British race. However, the 100/1 runner got the best of all his rivals to claim a memorable victory.
Although Caughoo’s victory did cause some controversy as the runner up jockey Daniel McCann alleged Eddie Dempsey had not run the course. These claims were proved to be false as photographs later showed Dempsey completing the course on Caughoo.
2- Foinavon (1967)
Foinavon had claimed no major titles to suggest that he could pull off a victory at the 1947 Grand National. But the 100/1 runner’s chances dramatically improved when a riderless horse named Popham Down caused a melee at the 23rd fence. This chaos affected almost all the horses, and only Foinavon could avoid the melee as he was too far behind.
And as the others started remounting and giving chase, they were shocked to realize that John Buckingham had established an insurmountable 30 lengths lead with just six fences remaining. It was a lost cause for the other competitors as Buckingham easily steered his horse to victory by 20 lengths. It became so famous that the 23rd fence was officially named after Foinavon in 1984.
Foinavon tried his luck again at Aintree the following year, but there was no repeat of such a fairytale success again as he fell at the 16th.
3- Auroras Encore (2013)
Auroras Encore wasn’t running in a good form before the 2013 Grand National, with the Sue Smith trained horse finishing no better than fourth in his first five races of the season. However, the 66/1 competitor saved his best for the prestigious race at Aintree.
Auroras Encore was breath-taking during the race and left nine lengths gap between himself and second-placed Coppa Bleu by the time he crossed the finishing line.
With this victory, Sue Smith entered her name in history books as the third Grand National winner after Jenny Pitman and Venetia Williams. It was also an extraordinary moment for the Scottish jockey Ryan Mania who achieved Grand National glory on his first ride at Aintree.
You can read more interesting articles in our section on Horse Racing.
