Alpha Des Obeaux Grand National Wins
Alpha Des Obeaux has never won the Grand National.
Their best finish to date was in 2021 where they came 11th. They were ridden by Jody McGarvey and trained by Denise Foster.
A horse that won multiple graded contests over the years, Alpha Des Obeaux was a real mainstay for the Gordon Elliott team during his career. Owned by the Gigginstown Stud, he contested many big races, and while he never won at Grade One level, he was capable of being involved in those races.
Foaled in 2010, the horse quickly showed us early in his career that he would go on to be very successful. Towards the back end of his career, it was the less-traditional races that saw him catch the eye, becoming a regular in cross-country races, including at the Cheltenham Festival.
He ran in two Grand National races, the first being in 2018 when he was fancied to go well as an outsider and was ridden by Rachel Blackmore, but unfortunately fell at the 15th fence. He was back for more in 2021, this time as a big outsider but did manage to complete the course and finished 11th behind Minella Times.
Full Results
| Year | Result | Prize Money | Handicap | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | - | 10-9 | Jody McGarvey | Denise Foster |
| 2018 | Fence 15 - Fell | - | 11-4 | Rachael Blackmore | Michael “Mouse” Morris |
Alpha Des Obeaux Early Years
Alpha Des Obeaux certainly hit the headlines early in his career, including on his very first start. He won a point-to-point race by 20 lengths and, after that success, was quickly sent to the Gordon Elliott team to begin his career under rules.
Second, on hurdling debut, he made no mistake when winning second time out and was then upped in grade, a run that saw him finish second in a Grade One novice hurdle at the Punchestown Festival in 2015.
A year later, he was second in the Stayers Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, finishing behind Thistlerack before going chasing. He didn’t win his debut but did win two in a row after that before slowly ascending through the chasing ranks.
Alpha Des Obeaux Big Race Wins
Despite trying hard, Alpha Des Obeaux was unable to win at Grade One level during his career, but he did win multiple times at Grade Two and Three levels, wins that will go down as being the biggest of his career.
He did so over both codes of racing two, with one graded success over hurdles and two graded successes over fences. The best of these was a win in the Grade Two Clonmel Oil Chase in November 2017, a race he won by almost five lengths. This was the final of his three graded wins and definitely the best.
He also added a Grade Three novice chase win and a Grade Two hurdle win before these to further improve his CV.