IT is 70 years since a mare last triumphed in the Grand National and the victory by Nickel Coin, trained by Cork-native Jack O’Donoghue, in 1951 was achieved in one of the most bizarre renewals in the long history of the famous race.

The Liverpool course then staged a four-day fixture with mixed cards on each afternoon and strangely there a total of 17 flat races and just seven over jumps.

Gordon Richards, Doug Smith, Charlie Smirke and Scobie Breasley were among the winning jockeys on the level while Aubrey Brabazon and Tim Molony enjoyed National Hunt successes.

The Grand National was one of only two races over jumps at Aintree on Saturday, April 7th, 1951 when the opening handicap hurdle was won by the Tim Molony-partnered Sir Ken with the pair going on to win the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in each of the next three years.

Thirty-six horses faced the start on soft ground in the National and the man with the flag, Leslie Firth, was heavily criticised over the manner in which the runners were sent on their way.

Astonishingly, there were 12 fallers at the first fence and only five remained in the race at the halfway stage. That was reduced to three at the finish with Johnny Bullock steering Nickel Coin to a 40/1 success ahead of the Irish pair of Royal Tan and the remounted Derrinstown.

Irish Press racing writer of the time Louis Gunning wrote of the disorganised start: “In previous years the horses were nursed into a line at the starting gate and allowed to settle down before being sent on their hazardous trip.

“On Saturday they were moving up to form that line when suddenly the tapes flew up. A few of the horses got a ‘flyer’ but the great majority seemed to be caught flat--footed and it was easy to imagine the panic amongst the riders as they suddenly realised that the race was on with the first fence looming ahead much sooner than anticipated.”

Brought down

The two previous winners took part in the 1951 Grand National with the 1950 victor, Freebooter, shouldering top-weight of 12st 7lb, brought down at the second fence.

The 1949 winner, Russian Hero, made his exit at the 15th and earlier Tom Dreaper’s big hope, Shagreen, fell at the fifth (Bechers) and 8/1 favourite Arctic Gold went at the eighth, Canal Turn fence.

Going out on the second circuit, 66/1 outsider Gay Heather was in the lead from Nickel Coin, Derrinstown, Royal Tan and Broomfield. There was further drama at the 22nd fence (Bechers) where Gay Heather and Derrinstown fell. Both were remounted but Gay Heather refused at the next fence, where Broomfield came down.

So, the race was turned into a two-horse contest and Royal Tan’s blunder at the last of the 30 fences decided the issue in favour of Nickel Coin with the mare finishing with four lengths to spare with Derrinstown a distance further back to claim third place.

Remarkably, the Vincent O’Brien-trained Royal Tan had also been runner-up in the Irish Grand National 12 days earlier. He was partnered in both races by amateur rider Phonsie O’Brien, brother of the trainer Vincent. Royal Tan would go on to claim Aintree glory three years later when forming the middle part of a famous treble success in the race by his handler. Derrinstown was trained by Gerry Flood at Maynooth, Co Kildare and ridden by Albert Power.

Nickel Coin was owned by 65-year-old Jeffrey Royle, who bought the horse for 55 guineas as a yearling and received £8,580 for the mare’s big race victory. The winning rider, 34-year-old Johnny Bullock, was an an ex-paratrooper and prisoner-of-war during the Second World War.

After a few lean seasons, his riding career picked up and he partnered 32 winners in the 1950-51 season. Bullock gained his greatest triumph with his second Grand National ride, having suffered a sixth-fence fall on Cavaliero in 1950.

It was also the biggest success in the career of trainer Jack O’Donoghue, who was born in Fermoy, Co Cork in 1907 and started training in 1934, having arrived in England five years earlier. Leigh in the Manchester area was his first training base before moving to Reigate, Surrey not far from Epsom Downs where he remained until retiring in 1996 at the age of 88.

Successes

O’Donoghue’s first training success was gained with a horse called Arbitration in a novices’ hurdle at Fontwell Park. Before the Nickel Coin triumph, he enjoyed other satisfying successes. In March 1953, he sent out Air Wedding to provide Fred Winter with his 100th victory of the season, becoming the first jockey to achieve such a winners’ total in a National Hunt season.

Jack, who was a point-to-point rider for a good number of years, took a lot of pride to have trained horses for the Queen Mother and at Folkestone in 1964 he was delighted to give the royal owner her 100th racecourse success.

The Cork-native also proved his worth as a trainer of flat horses, being the handler of Indigenous, the holder of a world record for five furlongs set in 1960 and sent out Hello Mister to win the Portland Handicap at Doncaster in 1994 and ‘95 with Patrick McCabe in the saddle both years.

The trainer felt that number 29 was lucky for him as he arrived in England in 1929, his first house number there was 29 and Nickel Coin carried the number 29 saddle cloth to win the Grand National. Jack O’Donoghue was the oldest licensed trainer in Britain when retiring in 1996 and he passed away at the age of 91 on October 16th, 1998.

Nickel Coin became the 13th mare to win Aintree’s Grand National but did not win another race, appearing to lose her zest for racing and finishing last in two starts the next season. A good number of female chasers have attempted to follow in her hoofprints over the next 70 years but none succeeded, with Eyecatcher and Magic Of Light achieving placings.

Nickel Coin has been honoured with the inclusion of her name in the title of a mares’ bumper run on the Thursday of the Grand National meeting since 2005, the race being promoted to Grade 2 status in 2016.