# It wasn't the biggest shock since Foinavon...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasnt-the-biggest-shock-since-foinavon/492635>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [April 10, 2009, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasnt-the-biggest-shock-since-foinavon/492635 "2009-04-10T13:27:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasnt-the-biggest-shock-since-foinavon/492635/1 "2009-04-10T13:27:11Z")

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… it was the biggest shock ever. Not exactly topical, but Mon Mome the 100-1 winner of the Grand National on Saturday was being hailed as the “biggest shock since Foinavon in 1967”. Wrong, this was a much bigger shock than 1967. Any old donkey could overtake all the favourites if they fall and have to remount, but this year the favourites didn’t fall. Mon Mome took on and beat last year’s winner by 12 lengths. The other 2 places were 14-1 and 8-1 so they weren’t easy to beat either.

It annoys me when people say “The …est since …” without thinking about what they are saying.

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**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasnt-the-biggest-shock-since-foinavon/492635/2 "2009-04-10T13:40:24Z")

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What was the best thing \*before \*sliced bread?

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**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasnt-the-biggest-shock-since-foinavon/492635/3 "2009-04-10T16:30:44Z")

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I generally find that when people say, “the \*\*\*\*est \*\*\*\* since \*\*\*\*,” they’re generally talking about something that’s obviously \*\*\*\*er than \*\*\*\*. It’s just a chance to show off your knowledge… in this case of Grand National upsets.

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**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasnt-the-biggest-shock-since-foinavon/492635/4 "2009-04-10T17:16:36Z")

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Mon Mome does have some reasonable form.

The horse has won seven out of thirty five races. He finished a creditable second in the Welsh Grand National two years ago and won a good handicap at Cheltenham last December. The animal was certainly not without a chance although his inconsistency didn’t inspire confidence. That said, it’s often possible to scour an animal’s track history after the event and find some pieces of form which entitled it to win.

I didn’t fancy his chance at all.