Leighton Aspell

Leighton Aspell
Leighton Aspell riding Many Clouds, the horse with which he won the Grand National
Occupation	Jockey
Born	(1976-06-12) 12 June 1976 (age 40) Dublin, Ireland
Major racing wins
Welsh National (2001, 2005) Champion Four Year Old Hurdle (2005) Grand National (2014, 2015) Hennessy Gold Cup (2014)
Significant horses
United, Pineau de Re, Many Clouds

Leighton Aspell (born 12 June 1976) is an Irish jockey, whose wins include the Champion Four Year Old Hurdle riding United, two runnings of the Welsh National, the 2014 Grand National riding Pineau de Re and the 2015 Grand National riding Many Clouds.

Leighton Aspell was born 12 June 1976 in Dublin, Ireland. He grew up in Narraghmore, County Kildare. Aspell has a brother, Paddy, who is also a jockey, and was originally taught to ride by his father, Patrick. He was later apprenticed to Reg Hollinshead. Aspell has a fan club, making him "one of the few jockeys" to have such a thing.

Aspell has competed in seven Grand Nationals, winning both the 2014 and 2015 Grand Nationals and coming second in the 2003 Grand National (his debut), riding Supreme Glory.

Aspell had several other notable successes. He won the Welsh National on Supreme Glory in 2001 and the same race on L'Aventure in 2005. Also, in 2005, Aspell won the Grade I Champion Four Year Old Hurdle at Punchestown Racecourse on the Lucy Wadham-trained mare United. In 2006, Aspell came near to victory at the Grand National, riding Ballycassidy, but he fell at Valentine's Brook second time round.

In July 2007, Aspell announced his retirement from race riding, and left to work for trainer John Dunlop in Arundel. However, he began his comeback in April 2009, saying

"I'm really looking forward to coming back. It's something that has been in the back of my mind, and the more I thought about it, the more I decided that I didn't want to find myself in ten years time regretting not having ridden for longer."