Leighton Aspell (born 12 June 1976) is a retired Irish jockey, best known for winning both the

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and 2015 Grand National's riding Pineau de Re and

Many Clouds Many Clouds (21 April 2007 – 28 January 2017) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2015 Grand National. After being sold as a foal, he was sent to England and trained for a National Hunt racing ca ...

Personal life

Leighton Aspell was born 12 June 1976 in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland. He grew up in Narraghmore,

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

. Aspell has a brother, Paddy, who is also a jockey, and was originally taught to ride by his father, Patrick. Aspell has a

fan club A fan club is an organized group of fans, generally of a celebrity. Most fan clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to support them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the pers ...

, making him "one of the few jockeys" to have such a thing. He and his brother Paddy are second cousins of former Ireland Rugby international

Shane Horgan Shane Patrick Horgan (born 18 July 1978) is an Irish former rugby union player who played wing or centre for Leinster and Ireland. Early life Horgan was born on 18 July 1978 in Bellewstown, County Meath, to an Irish mother, Ursula (''née'' C ...

and his actress sister

Sharon Horgan Sharon Lorencia Horgan (born ) is an Irish actress, writer, director, producer, and comedian. She is best known for creating and starring in the comedy series '' Pulling'' (2006–2009), '' Catastrophe'' (2015–2019), and '' Bad Sisters'' (2022 ...

. His niece is actress and equestrian show jumper

Lilly Aspell Lilly Aspell (born 23 October 2007) is a British actress and equestrian show jumper. Early life and education Aspell was born in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire to Scottish and Irish jockeys Donna Caldwell and Paddy Aspell and spent her early childho ...

Career

Aged 16, Aspell moved from Ireland to Great Britain and joined Reg Hollinshead as an apprentice following in the footsteps of

Pat Eddery Patrick James John Eddery (18 March 1952 – 10 November 2015) was an Irish flat racing jockey and trainer. He rode three winners of the Derby and was Champion Jockey on eleven occasions. He rode the winners of 4,632 British flat races, a f ...

, Kevin Darley and

Walter Swinburn Walter Robert John Swinburn (7 August 1961 – 12 December 2016) was a flat racing jockey and trainer who competed in Great Britain and internationally. Biography Swinburn was born in Oxford. He was the son of Wally Swinburn, who won t ...

. Initially competing as a flat jockey, Aspell's first win was ''Prime Painter'' trained by Roger Fisher at Hamilton Park in May 1993. He later moved to Sussex to join Josh Gifford at Findon switching to National Hunt riding. His first winner over fences was ''Karar'', trained by Richard Rowe in a Novices Handicap Hurdle at Huntingdon Racecourse in May 1995. Aspell won the December Novices Chase at

Lingfield Park Lingfield Park Racecourse (commonly referred to as Lingfield) is a horse racing course at Lingfield in Surrey, United Kingdom. It is owned by the ARC Racing and Leisure Group, formerly Arena Leisure Plc. Lingfield is best known as a winter ...

in December 1996 onboard ''Foodbroker Star'' for Gifford. Aspell continued working closely with Gifford, Peter Bowen and Pat Murphy. It would be for Murphy that he won his first

Welsh Grand National The Coral Welsh Grand National is a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Chepstow, Wales, over a distance of ...

for in December 2001 riding ''Supreme Glory'', finishing ahead of ''Bindaree'' who would go on to win the Grand National at Aintree the following April. Aspell also won the 2005 Welsh Grand National with ''L'Aventure'' for Paul Nicholls. 2005 would also mark Aspell's only Grade 1 victory in the

Champion Four Year Old Hurdle The Champion Four Year Old Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and during its ...

Punchestown Racecourse Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 Regional road (Ireland), regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays ...

for trainer Lucy Wadham riding ''

United United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

''. Aspell and ''United'' would later win the National Spirit Hurdle at Fontwell Park. In July 2007, Aspell announced his retirement from race riding, and left to work for trainer John Dunlop in

Arundel Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England. The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much la ...

. 18 months later, Aspell returned to race riding. A strong start to the 2013/14 season saw Aspell win several key races including the Persian War Novices Chase and the December Novices Chase. At the turn of the year, victories for Emma Lavelle and

Oliver Sherwood Oliver Martin Carwardine Sherwood (born 23 March 1955) is a British horse trainer who specialises in training horses that compete in National Hunt racing. Background Sherwood's parents, Nat and Heather Sherwood, were both talented point-to-po ...

in two feature races at Warwick - the Classic Chase and Leamington Novices Hurdle led to him securing the ride on '' Pineau de Re'' in the

2014 Grand National The 2014 Grand National (officially known as the 2014 Crabbie's Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 167th annual running of the Grand National Horse racing, horse race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. The showpiece Ste ...

for trainer Richard Newland. The horse's regular rider

Sam Twiston-Davies Sam Twiston-Davies (born 15 October 1992) is a British National Hunt racing jockey who has multiple Grade 1 and Cheltenham Festival wins to his name. Background Twiston-Davies comes from a racing background. His father is trainer Nigel Twiston-D ...

opted to ride the more fancied ''

Tidal Bay Tidal Bay is an Irish bred Bay gelding Thoroughbred race horse foaled on 12 May 2001. He was the winner of three Grade 1 jumps races, the Arkle Challenge Trophy and the Maghull Novices' Chase in 2008 as well as the Lexus Chase in 2012. Tr ...

'' around three weeks prior to the race. After a

false start In sports, a false start is a disallowed start, usually due to a movement by a participant before (or in some cases after) being signaled or otherwise permitted by the rules to start. Depending on the sport and the event, a false start can resu ...

, Aspell and ''Pineau de Re'' won the race by five lengths at odds of 25/1. Heading into the 2014/15 season saw Aspell form a close relationship with ''

'' riding for Sherwood in the colours of owner

Trevor Hemmings Trevor James Hemmings (11 June 1935 – 11 October 2021) was a British billionaire businessman. Early life Hemmings was born in Woolwich, London, on 11 June 1935, the son of a Royal Ordnance worker. During the Second World War, part of the Ro ...

. Wins in the Hennessey Gold Cup and

Cotswold Chase The Cotswold Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt racing, National Hunt steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to Horse racing, horses aged five years or older. It is r ...

were chalked up on the way to Aintree where Aspell won his second

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...

, recording the first back-to-back wins for a jockey in the race since the 1970s by ''Red Rum'' jockey

Brian Fletcher Brian Fletcher (18 May 1947 – 11 January 2017) was an English jockey known for riding the horse Red Rum to win the Grand National in 1973 Grand National, 1973 and 1974 Grand National, 1974 and for second place in 1975 Grand National, 1975. He ...

. In February 2020, Aspell retired from racing riding almost 1,000 winners.

Major wins

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...

– (2) Pineau de Re (2014),

(2015) *

– (2) Supreme Glory (2001), L'Aventure (2005) ---- Ireland *

– (1) United (2005)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aspell, Leighton 1976 births Living people Irish jockeys Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United Kingdom Equestrians from County Dublin Lester Award winners Equestrians from County Kildare