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
1992 Grand National horse crashing into him mid-air." Twin Oaks was allocated top weight of 11 stone 7 lbs and had won two of his three prep races since pulling up in the Welsh Grand National in December, one of those being the Peter Marsh chase at Haydock in February and was sent off at 9/1 in company with regular jockey, Neale Doughty, himself the winner of the race in 1984. Doughty rode a patient waiting race towards the rear of the main pack before moving through the field three fences from home. They jumped into a distant fourth briefly at the second