Grand National first jump, suddenly veered across the leading group at the 23rd, causing them to either stop, refuse or unseat their riders. Racing journalist Lord Oaksey described the resulting pile-up by saying that Popham Down had "cut down the leaders like a row of thistles". Some horses even started running in the wrong direction, back the way they had come. Foinavon, whose owner had such little faith in him that he had travelled to Worcester that day instead, had been lagging some 100 yards behind the leading pack, giving his jockey, John Buckingham, time to steer his mount wide of the
2012 Grand National the Foinavon fence, and said afterward: "I was lucky at the first because he slithered into the back of it. At the seventh he just took his eye off the fence and that was it." Denis O'Regan said that Black Apalachi was fine after his fall at the Canal Turn and that he had "got in too tight and tipped over". Andrew Thornton was unseated from Tatenen at the Turn, saying, "I was squeezed and had no daylight. It can happen at that fence and it happened to me." Robert Power was also unseated at the fence, later saying that