The Grand National is enormously popular in the United Kingdom. It happens every year at the Aintree Racecourse in Merseyside, bringing together some of the best horses and jockeys to compete for the highest racing honours. The famous event also provides a great betting opportunity for punters who always keep looking for the best Grand National odds.
1- Devon Loch’s shock defeat (1956)
The name of Devon Loch is very famous in the history of the Grand National. However, it wasn’t because he won the prestigious race but because he came extremely close to triumphing but ultimately didn’t.
Devon Loch was owned by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother while he was ridden by Dick Francis on the racing day in 1956. The promising horse had already won two races that season and his prospects had improved further when Must and Early Mist fell early on.
Devon Loch established a huge lead on the final Stretch and was just on the brink of a comfortable victory. However, with glory just a few yards away, he inexplicably and shockingly bellyfloped to the ground. And that allowed E.S.B to overtake him and win the race.
Jockey Dick Francis tried to cajole Devon Loch but the horse was unable to continue. “To do a Devon Loch” is now even a modern metaphor used in sports to describe a sudden, last-minute failure.
2- Foinavon’s victory (1967)
Everyone knows that often the strongest and fastest horses win the races. However, that wasn’t the case in the 1967 edition of the Grand National.
Foinavon wasn’t the most promising horse and on the day of the race, neither his owner nor his trainer were at Aintree. He started the race at odds of 100/1. Under normal circumstances, he had almost no chance of victory at the prestigious Grand National.
However, something happened that day that greatly changed his prospects in the race. At the 23rd fence, a horse named Popham Down veered to his right, causing a huge pile up. Since Foinavon was far behind, he could easily avoid the chaos and soon managed to establish a good lead. Several horses gave chase but there was almost no chance of a comeback for them. And this way, Foinavon recorded a great victory at the 1967 Grand National.
3- Red Rum vs Crisp (1973)
Red Rum is widely regarded as one of the greatest racehorses in the United Kingdom. He achieved a historic treble when he won the Grand National in 1973, 1974 and 1977. The legendary horse would have been a pure joy to watch for all the modern horse fans who consistently follow the sport through horsebettingnews365.com and never get bored of talking about the races.
However, he wasn’t a big name when he first competed in the prestigious racing event in 1973. Crisp was a joint-favourite for that race and he led the field virtually all the way. At one point in the race, he was 30 lengths clear. How Crisp managed to lose from that position was all due to the sheer brilliance of Red Rum who came with a thundering speed to pip his rival and win by three-quarters of a length. His comeback victory from 30 lengths is now considered as one of the greatest Grand Nationals in history.
