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1951 Grand National

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1951 Grand National
Grand National
LocationAintree Racecourse
Date7 April 1951
Winning horseNickel Coin
Starting price1040 40/1
JockeyJohn Bullock
TrainerRepublic of Ireland Jack O'Donoghue
OwnerJeffrey Royle
ConditionsSoft
← 1950
1952 →
External videos
video icon Highlights of the 1951 Grand National (British Pathé)

The 1951 Grand National was the 105th renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 7 April 1951.

A crowd of 250,000 people saw the race won by Nickel Coin at odds of 40/1. The nine-year-old mare was ridden by jockey John Bullock and trained by Jack O'Donoghue. Royal Tan, who won in 1954, finished second, and Derrinstown was third. An unprecedented twelve horses (a third of the field) went at the first fence- either falling or being brought down. Of the 36 runners, only three completed the course. All of the horses returned safely to the stables.

In the long history of the Grand National only 13 mares have won the race, Nickel Coin being the most recent.

Finishing order

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Position Name Jockey Age Handicap (st-lb) SP Distance
01 Nickel Coin Johnny Bullock 9 10–1 40/1 6 Lengths[1]
02 Royal Tan Phonsie O'Brien 7 10–13 40/1
03 Derrinstown Albert Power 11 10–0 66/1 Last to complete

Non-finishers

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Fence Name Jockey Age Handicap (st-lb) SP Fate
01 Cadamstown Jack Dowdeswell 11 10–4 50-1 Fell
01 Column Atty Corbett 11 10–1 100/1 Fell
01 Confucius Mick O'Dwyer 10 10–0 100/1 Fell
01 East A'Calling Michael Scudamore 10 10–2 50/1 Brought Down
01 Finnure Dick Francis 10 12–0 22/1 Fell
01 Irish Lizard Pat Taaffe 8 10–1 50/1 Brought Down
01 Land Fort Bryan Marshall 7 11–3 20/1 Fell
01 Parsonhill Jim Seely 12 10–2 100/1 Fell
01 Revealed Mr W Beynon-Brown 11 10–0 100/1 Fell
01 Stalbridge Rock Dick McCreery 8 10–5 66/1 Fell
01 Stockman George Vergette 9 10–2 100/1 Brought Down
01 Texas Dan Paddy Fitzgerald 9 10–1 66/1 Brought Down
02 Gallery Alf Mullins 13 10–4 50/1 Fell
02 Freebooter Jimmy Power 10 12–7 10/1 Brought Down
05 Shagreen Glen Kelly 10 12–2 10/1 Fell
06 Morning Cover George Slack 10 10–0 40/1 Fell
07 Binghamstown Louis Furman 12 10–0 100/1 Fell
07 Rowland Roy David Dick 12 10–12 50/1 Fell
07 Sergeant Kelly Reg De'Ath 10 10–12 40/1 Brought Down
08 Arctic Gold Tim Molony 6 10–13 8/1 Fell
08 Armoured Knight Tommy Cusack 7 10–8 66/1 Brought Down
08 Cloncarrig Bob Turnell 11 12–0 10/1 Fell
08 Glen Fire Fred Winter 8 10–1 33/1 Fell
08 Prince Brownie Tony Grantham 9 10–9 33/1 Fell
08 Tasman Charles Hook 11 10–0 100/1 Refused
09 Roimond Andrew Jarvis 10 12–0 100/7 Fell
09 Partpoint Arthur Thompson 9 10–5 33/1 Fell
09 Queen of the Dandies Roy Carter 10 10–0 100/1 Fell
10 Caesar's Wife Gordon Rogers 9 10–8 100/1 Fell
15 Russian Hero Leo McMorrow 11 11–1 40/1 Fell
15 Dog Watch Tim Brookshaw 10 10–2 33/1 Fell
23 Broomfield Rene Emery 10 10–4 33/1 Fell
23 Gay Heather Dick Curran 10 10–0 66/1 Fell

[2] [3] [4]

Media Coverage

[edit]

With rationing still in place across the UK, newspapers had limited space for coverage of the race, most only running a brief preview with the race card. The Radio Times carried a picture of 1950 winner, Freebooter jumping the final flight on the way to victory with a map of the course on its cover.

The BBC had requested to screen the race live on Television but Aintree refused, leaving the BBC light radio programme to issue a thirty-minute broadcast at 3pm. David Black called the runners over the early fences, Michael O'Hehir took over at Becher's and Canal turn with Richard North calling them up the Canal Side before handing over to lead commentator, Raymond Glendenning to call the runners home. Each commentator was assisted by a race caller who would spot and identify horses departing the contest. Peter O'Sullevan, who would eventually be known as the voice of Racing, this year acted as O'Hehir's caller.[5]

The major newsreel companies regarded the National as one of the major highlights of their year. Movietone, presented by Lionel Gamlin, Pathe and Gaumont, all had cameras on the course and had their coverage ready to be screened in cinemas within hours.[6][7][8]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "1951".
  2. ^ The Grand National : the history of the Aintree spectacular, by Stewart Peters & Bernard Parkin, ISBN 0-7524-3547-7
  3. ^ "1951 – The Grand National & Aintree 1946-1959". fiftiesnationals.webs.com. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  4. ^ "Past Winners of The Grand National". grand-national.net. Archived from the original on 4 November 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  5. ^ "The Grand National". Radio Times. Vol. 110, no. 1429. 30 March 1951. p. 35. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  6. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "The Grand National 1951 - Nickel Coin". YouTube.
  7. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "The Grand National (1951)". YouTube.
  8. ^ "Grand National horse race at Aintree 1951 (1951)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021.