1967 Grand National began running in the wrong direction, back the way they had come. The undistinguished Foinavon, whose owner had such little faith in him that he had travelled to Worcester on race day instead, had been lagging so far behind that his jockey, John Buckingham, had sufficient time to steer his mount wide of the mêlée and find a small gap in the fence to jump cleanly on the outside. Being on the only horse over the 23rd at the first attempt, Buckingham found himself with a surprise lead of 30 lengths. Although 17 jockeys remounted to give chase and some
Foinavon but often covered racing and was brought in to cover the race at the far end of the course, going to Becher's Brook and coming away from Valentine's. His commentary of the carnage at the 23rd fence is often shown when BBC Sport puts together montages of great sporting moments. O'Hehir received particular respect from his peers for the speed and unflustered coolness with which he identified Foinavon as the horse emerging from the mêlée. O'Hehir later said in an interview that it was precisely the unfamiliarity of Foinavon's colours that made him so instantly recognisable during the race. O'Hehir