The 1951 Grand National saw 36 runners go to post, but only three of them would be able to finish the contest, meaning one of the places wasn’t filled, as four places are the terms for handicaps of this size.
Nickel Coin was the winner of the race, a mare trained by Jack O’Donaghue and ridden by Johnny Bullock.
It was the first runner in the race for O’Donaghue and would be the only winner of his four runners over the years.
For Bullock, he had a ride a year earlier, where he fell early, and would have seven in total, finishing first on this occasion only and only managing to complete the course twice in total, including this win.
There was drama at the first fence, with a number of runners falling or being brought down, to give us a dramatic start.
With a 40/1 winner, a 40/1 second-placed runner and 66/1 third-placed horse, it was undoubtedly a year for the bookmakers, with few managing to find the winner or placed runners on this occasion.
Nickel Coin Becomes 13th Winning Mare of Grand National
We don’t see too many mares running in the Grand National, as this is often a race for older horses and many mares retire for breeding before they get a chance to run in it.
But there have been a few runs in the race, and Nickel Coin not only became one of those, but she also became a winner.
When crossing the finishing line in first position, she became the 13th winning mare to take the contest, doing so at odds of 40/1 and winning by a distance of six lengths.
Royal Tan would finish second in the race, and three years later, in the 1954 renewal of the contest, he would go one place better and win the Grand National.
Nickel Coin was nine at the time of winning the contest, kept in training rather than being sent to the breeding barn.
Chaos at First Fence Costs Many a Place in the Race
The start of this race is one that has been shown over and over again and caused great drama for those who were on course, as well as those who have watched footage since.
Thirty-six runners began the race, and 12 of them saw their chances end at the first fence, a third of the runners.
Some of those fell, and the rest were brought down by runners that fell in front of them. This was mainly outsiders in the race that came to trouble here, but it certainly did a lot to cut down the number of runners.
At the second fence, just 24 remained in the contest, meaning we didn’t get the big field charging down fences at the start. As horses went out onto the second circuit, just seven remained, again, something we don’t see too often in this contest.
Aintree Continue to Block TV Coverage
The battle between the BBC and Aintree Racecourse over media rights continued. The course again blocked the BBC’s request to show live TV coverage of the race.
This left the BBC with radio coverage only, a 30-minute program beginning at 3 pm on the day. With three commentators and three spotters to help, the BBC took things seriously and was desperate for TV coverage but couldn’t get it.
However, pictures remained with newsreel companies only; they sold them on, and the race was shown in cinemas hours after the winner crossed the line.
It was a blow to the BBC, they would have to remain covering the race via radio only.
Results
| Result | Horse | Starting Price | Age | Handicap | Prize Money | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nickel Coin | 40/1 | 9 | 10-1 | £8480 | Johnny Bullock | Jack O’Donaghue |
| 2 | Royal Tan | 40/1 | 7 | 10-13 | £940 | Phonsie O’Brien | M Vincent O’Brien |
| 3 | Derrinstown | 66/1 | 11 | 10-00 | £420 | Alan Power | Unknown |