Leighton Aspell

Dual Grand National-winning jockey Leighton Patrick Aspell was born in Narraghmore, near Kilcullen, County Kildare, Ireland on June 12, 1976, the son of Kildare trainer Paddy Aspell.

His father had ridden as an amateur and held a permit to train his own horses. Leighton began his racing career by having a dozen or so rides for him by way of dipping his toe in the water before moving crossing the Irish Sea, aged 16, and joining Reg Hollinshead renowned apprentice academy at Upper Longdon, near Rugeley.  

He had his first ride in March 1993 and two months later rode his first winner on Prime Painter for Cumbrian trainer Roger Fisher in a one-mile four-furlong apprentices’ handicap at Hamilton Park on May 26, 1993. He had around 100 rides on the Flat and rode ten winners before he became too big and too heavy. His destiny would now lie over jumps. 

His first win under National Hunt rules was gained on the Hollinshead-trained Malachite Green in a Southwell bumper on March 15, 1994. In August of that year he joined Josh Gifford’s Findon stable and rode his first winner over jumps on Karar, trained by Richard Rowe, who had been Gifford’s long-time stable jockey, in a Huntingdon novices’ handicap hurdle on May 17, 1995. 

Soon he was riding for outside stables such as Lucy Wadham, Oliver Sherwood and Pat Murphy. He registered his first big race triumph on May 3, 1997 when winning the Grade 3 Swinton Handicap Hurdle at Haydock on the Peter Bowen-trained. Dreams End.

He won the 2001 Welsh Grand National on Supreme Glory for Pat Murphy. Two years later Leighton rode Supreme Glory to finish second to Monty’s Pass in the Grand National itself.  

By then he had his own fan club. Formed in 2001, the Leighton Aspell Fan Club had its roots in the Marine View Hotel in Worthing, Sussex. Every Friday night a group of friends would meet there and select a horse to back for Saturday’s racing, the sole criteria being that Leighton, who was a friend of one of them, had to be the jockey. 

The Racing Channel, forerunner of today’s racing satellite channels, was then running a naps table for the presenters and the public. Although it ran during the hart of the Flat season, the friends stuck with Leighton-ridden horses at the summer jumps fixtures. Their nominated rider rode winners at 33-1 and 20-1 and, with the naps table being based on SP, they won easily. That allowed them to enter the presenters’ table, for which they called themselves the Leighton Aspell Fan Club, and the run of profitable winners continued. 

That success, coupled with regular mentions on TV, led to an increasing amount of people curious to know what the ‘club’ was all about. There was no actual club at the time but, because of its popularity, the Leighton Aspell Fan Club was duly formed. Within six months they had more than 100 members from all corners of Britain. They published a monthly magazine, ran competitions and held raffles, with all profits donated to the Injured Jockeys Find.

Leighton rode Josh Gifford’s final runner, Skycab, to an emotional victory at Sandown on April 26, 2003, the last day of the season. Then, just nine days later, he gave Josh’s son Nick Gifford his first training success since taking over at Findon when bringing home Pounsley Mill in a handicap chase at Fontwell on May 5. He rode Skycab for Nick in the 2004 Grand National but fell at Becher’s on the first circuit.  

Leighton gained a second Welsh Grand National victory in 2005, coming in for a spare ride on the Paul Nicholls-trained L’Aventure, his first ride for the stable. He had scored his first Grade 1 success earlier that year in the Irish Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle at Punchestown on United, trained by Lucy Wadham. 

 He had a memorable ride on Peter Bowen’s chaser Ballycassidy in the 2006 Grand National. Taking the lead at Valentine’s first time, he built up a clear lead and was still in front when taking a spectacular fall there on the second circuit. Both horse and rider emerged unscathed. 

He enjoyed a successful career until, in July 2007, having ridden the unplaced Pure Brief for Reg Hollinshead at Stratford, he shocked the racing world by announcing his retirement from the saddle at the age of 31 with 400 winners to his name. 

He joined John Dunlop’s Castle Stables at Arundel as pupil assistant. For the first twelve months he enjoyed it and had no thoughts of returning to race riding. He continued to school for Nick Gifford and local point-to-point people on his weekends off but began to miss the camaraderie of the weighing room, especially when Cheltenham and Aintree came around.

In April 2009 he made his comeback at a lowly Easter Bank Holiday fixture at Plumpton. Three weeks later, Lucy Wadham’s Saafend Rocket provided him with his first winner since his return. More soon followed. His fan club was delighted. 

Due to a long-term injury to Dominic Elsworth, Leighton was pretty much able to walk straight back into his old job with Oliver Sherwood. But nobody could have foreseen how well things would turn out. 

It took a while before he was back riding big winners, but he enjoyed notable success for Worcester-based owner-trainer Dr Richard Newland on Night Alliance in the 2013 Tommy Whittle Chase at Haydock. 

On Saturday, April 5, 2014, he rode Dr Newland’s Pineau De Re to win the Grand National. He said after the race: “Even to get a ride in the Grand National is a great thing but to get one with a live chance is even better. I remember watching the National as a very young boy and, as much as sharing in everyone’s success, you seek and crave a bit too. My family made the effort to come over to watch.”

It was to get even better. Later that year he won the Hennessy Gold Cup on Oliver Sherwood’s Many Clouds. He then rode him to win the 2015 Cotswold Chase and to secure a second successive Grand National triumph. 

He rode a career-best 65 winners in the 2014-15 season and achieved his highest placing in the jump jockeys’ table in 2015-16 when finishing in eleventh place. 

He scored his last big race victory on Buywise in the 2018 Veterans’ Chase Final in January 2018. He rode his final chase winner aboard Chris Gordon’s On The Slopes at Kempton on February 7, 2020. The following day he rode what would turn out to be the last winner of his career on Trincomalee for Lucy Wadham in a two-mile five-furlong novices’ hurdle at Warwick.

Leighton announced his retirement – for a second and final time – on ITV Racing at Kempton on Saturday, February 24, 2020. He had his last two rides at Fontwell Park the following day. 

His wife Nicola and daughters Lucy, Niamh and Kitty were in attendance to witness his farewell as a jockey. Sadly, he could not quite complete the fairytale finale his fan club yearned for, finishing second on his final ride, the Nick Gifford-trained bumper newcomer Itsnotwhatyouthink, who was sent off the 15-8 favourite.

He reflected: “The second half of my career has been fantastic and I've enjoyed it. The more experience you have, the more free rein you have and that's been a joy to have that relationship with the trainers.”

Unsurprisingly, he rated Many Clouds as the best he rode. “I was on him for all of his races and he was a joy to ride. It was only when he was gone you realise how few and far between those horses are.” 

Leighton retired having ridden a total of 909 winners over jumps in Britain, plus two in Ireland and 11 on the Flat. Not bad for someone who, when a teenager, was told that he would never make a jockey. 

His younger brother Paddy is a successful northern-based Flat jockey.  

Leighton Aspell’s major wins included:

Grand National, Aintree: Pineau De Re (2014), Many Clouds (2015)

Swinton Hurdle, Haydock: Dreams End (1997)

Welsh Grand National, Chepstow: Supreme Glory (2001), L’Aventure (2005)

Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle, Punchestown: United (2005)

Silver Cup, Ascot: Billyvodden (2006)

National Spirit Hurdle, Fontwell: Rouble (2002), United (2007)

Tommy Whittle Chase, Haydock: Night Alliance (2013)

Classic Chase, Warwick: Shotgun Paddy (2014)

Hennessy Gold Cup, Newbury: Many Clouds (2014)

Cotswold Chase, Cheltenham: Many Clouds (2015 & 2017)

Relkeel Hurdle, Cheltenham: Camping Ground (2016)

Veterans’ Chase Final, Sandown: Buywise (2018)