Al Eile (foaled on 1 June 2000 in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

) is an Irish

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

. He is best known for being the only horse to win the Grade I

Aintree Hurdle The Aintree Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Aintree over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs (), ...

three times.

Background

He was sired by,

Alzao Alzao (28 February 1980 – 19 July 2007) was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was trained in France during his racing career and won four races including the Prix Matchem and the Premio Ellington. After his retirement from ...

out of the mare Kilcsem Eile. He is owned by Michael Ryan and is trained by John Queally. Throughout his time as a

, he has been ridden by several jockeys, including

Timmy Murphy Timmy, or sometimes Timmie, is a masculine name, a short form of Timothy or Tim. This variation is popular as a nickname and is commonly used when someone is young, but is often used in adulthood. It is a version of the Greek name ( Timόtheos ...

and Francis Martin Berry.Al Eile History
racingpost.com, accessed 8 May 2010 As of May 2010, Al Eile has amassed a career record of 12 wins, 4 places and 6 shows while accumulating £598,075 in lifetime earnings.

Racing career

Flat Racing

Al Eile started racing as a two-year-old in October 2002 when he was entered into the European Breeders Fund Maiden where he finished in 14th place out of 17 entries.

2003/4: Novice Hurdles

He won his first race, the Devon Inn 3-Y-O Hurdle, in September 2003 at

Listowel Racecourse Listowel Racecourse is a horse racing venue in the town of Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland which stages both National Hunt and Flat racing. The course is flat and run left handed over an inner rectangular shaped circuit measuring just over a mile, ...

Listowel Listowel ( ; , IPA: �lʲɪsˠˈt̪ˠuəhəlʲ is a heritage market town in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the River Feale, from the county town, Tralee. The town of Listowel had a population of 4,820 according to the Central Statistics Of ...

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

, Ireland. In that race, he beat a field of seven horses in what was his first entry into a jump competition. After the victory, Al Eile went on to win five of his next eight races. Of those wins, the first notable victory was in April 2004 when, as a 25-1 outsider, Al Eile defeated 17 other horses to win the

Anniversary 4-Y-O Novices' Hurdle The Anniversary 4-Y-O Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years. It is ...

, a Grade 2 National Hunt race.

2005-2009: Senior Hurdle Races

In total, Al Eile has won a total of four Grade 1 races, three of which have come in the

Aintree Racecourse Aintree Racecourse is a horse racing, racecourse in Aintree, Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, bordering the city of Liverpool. The racecourse is the venue for the Grand National steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase, whi ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In April 2005, Al Eile beat out

Inglis Drever Inglis Drever (18 March 1999 – October 2009) was a champion racehorse trained in the North of England by Howard Johnson. He was one of the most successful hurdle racing horses to date and won the World Hurdle three times, bettered only by ...

by a neck to win his first Aintree Hurdle. In 2007, he defeated Gaspara by 1.5

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...

en route to his second Grade 1 victory. Al Eile followed his win in the 2007 Aintree Hurdle with another in 2008 when he

Osana Osana was a Northumbrian princess, whose local following as a saint developed informally after her death, though she was never officially canonised. Centuries after her death, she was described by the Norman-Welsh chronicler Giraldus Cambrensis (di ...

by 10 lengths. The win made Al Eile the first horse to achieve back to back wins in the Aintree Hurdle since Danoli in 1993 and 1994. Al Eile has won one other Grade 1 race in his career, the 2007

December Festival Hurdle The December Festival Hurdle, currently known by its sponsored title of the Matheson Hurdle, is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is ...

Leopardstown Racecourse Leopardstown Racecourse is an Ireland, Irish horse-racing venue, located in Leopardstown, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, 8 km south of the Dublin city centre. Like the majority of Irish courses, it hosts both National Hunt and Flat racing. Th ...

Leopardstown Leopardstown () is a suburb of Dublin in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, within the traditional County Dublin, Ireland. Located at the foot of the Dublin Mountains, it is a residential suburb with institutional lands and a large racecourse. It is di ...

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

, in which he bested a field of six horses, defeating Hardy Eustace by a single length.

References

{{reflist 2000 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 2-i ja:ウェルアームド