With horse racing’s blockbuster Boxing Day schedule firmly in the rearview mirror, attention immediately turns to 2024, and the bucket load of huge festivals just around the corner. For the racing purists, Cheltenham is the one. Every race throughout festival week is crammed full with the finest thoroughbreds on the planet all aiming to win huge prizes both for their trainers and for punters.
But for the more casual viewer, the Grand National – both the festival and the big race itself – is incomparable. It’s without a doubt the busiest day of the year for bookmakers, with every man and his dog looking to get a couple of quid staked on the action. And over the years, the race has had some huge shocks. Five horses have won the race as 100/1 outsiders, and here are the three most recent of them.
Mon Mome
Mon Mome’s victory in the 2009 Grand National was as unexpected as it gets. And it hit the bookmakers hard. Back then, websites offering free bets on horse racing were just coming to the fore, and that opened up the bookies to a whole new way to accept bets. Unfortunately for them, they were immediately walloped with a 100/1 outsider romping to victory in the biggest race of the year.
The horse had shown some promise in the lead-up to the race but had never won a major event. Mon Mome was ridden by Liam Treadwell, who was a relative unknown in the world of horse racing. The duo were able to stay the course and beat out some of the race’s more high-profile contenders. It was later revealed that Treadwell had been suffering from a serious injury in the weeks before the race but had pushed through to secure the win.
Source: Unsplash
Foinavon
Foinavon’s win in the 1967 Grand National is perhaps the most famous upset in the race’s history. The horse was named after a fence on the course and had struggled in the weeks leading up to the event. On the day of the race, chaos broke out when a loose horse ran onto the course and caused a major pile-up at the 23rd fence. Foinavon, who was at the back of the pack, was able to navigate around the wreckage and jump the fence with ease. He went on to win the race by 15 lengths, securing his place in Grand National folklore.
Caughoo
Caughoo was the third-ever 100/1 winner of the Grand National in 1947 after Tipperary Tim and Gregalach won in back-to-back years in 1928 and 1929. Many punters thought it was a wasted bet, but Caughoo had other plans. He ran a superb race, jumping cleanly and staying on strongly to pass the post first. What made his victory even more remarkable was the fact that it came just two years after World War II had ended, and the country was still recovering from the devastation of the conflict. Caughoo gave a much-needed boost to the nation’s morale, and his name has gone down in history as one of the greatest underdogs of all time.