Since beginning his career as a jockey in 1997, Alan Crowe has more than proved that he has enough talent to hold his own against any of the domestic-based jockeys and his tally of big-race wins is evidence to that. His tactical brain and strength in a finish are what have set him apart from the bunch and having built a strong relationship with trainer Christy Roche since the very beginning of his riding career, his future in the saddle looks assured for a long time to come.
Principal Trainer: Christy Roche
Notable Wins:
- Troytown Chase (Jack The Bus 2010)
- Cork Grand National (Streets Of Gold 2010)
- Lartigue Hurdle (Sword Fish 2010)
- Ladbrokes.com Handicap Hurdle (Un Hinged 2010)
- Durkan New Homes Juvenile Hurdle (Lethal Weapon 2008)
- paddypowerpoker.com Handicap Hurdle (Le Coudray 2005)
- Irish Stallion Farms EBF Novice Handicap Chase Final (Lotomore Lad 2005)
- Paddy Power Champion I.N.H. Flat Race (Geill Sli 2004)
- BETDAQ Hurdle (Risk Assessor 2003)
- Listowel Races Supporters Club Lartigue Hurdle (High Stakes 2000)
- Dawn Milk Handicap Hurdle (Bannow Bay 2000)
A Career Begins
Crowe has been associated with the Christy Roche yard since the very beginning of his career, having started working for the Co. Kildare-based trainer at the tender age of 14. There is a notable family connection between the Crowe and Roche families, as both of them originally hailed from Bansha in Co. Tipperary and both Alan’s father Paddy and Christy worked for trainer David O’Brien, with Paddy having ridden the mighty Assert in his homework before Christy rode him to success in the French and Irish Derbys.
Alan began his riding career as an apprentice on the Flat, taking his first rides in 1997 and riding his first winner on the Roche-trained Teacher Preacher in August of that year. He rode two more winners at a modest level on the Flat in 1998, but his weight was always going to result in him struggling as an apprentice. Indeed, his weight got the better of him the very next year and he reverted to amateur status, turning his attention to the National Hunt game, a decision that soon began to reap handsome dividends.
A New Beginning Over Jumps
Crowe’s first full season as an amateur in 2000/1 was a remarkably successful one, with him booting home 14 winners from 40 rides, a phenomenal strike rate by anyone’s standards. That tally included three wins over hurdles on the talented Bannow Bay, including one at the Galway Festival and a valuable win in the Lartigue Hurdle at the Listowel Harvest Festival on High Stakes, with both those horses being trained by Christy Roche. However, Crowe’s most notable partnership that season was with Like-A-Butterfly, on whom he won two bumpers in great style on her first two career starts before she went on to win multiple Grade 1’s for Christy Roche and her owner JP McManus. On the back of such a successful National Hunt season, Crowe was very much in demand in qualified rider events during the summer months and he gained five wins from just 13 rides that year.
2001/2 was a season of consolidation for Crowe, with him riding a similar number of winners having been given a significantly larger number of rides. The highlight of his season was his partnership with the Roche-trained Silver Steel, on whom he won two novice chases before finishing a highly-creditable third in the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, his first ride at the Mecca of National Hunt racing.
Becoming A Champion
The hard work that Crowe had put in over the preceding seasons paid off in no uncertain terms in 2002/3, with him riding a total of 18 winners which was enough to see him crowned Champion Amateur for the season. While he failed to add another big race to his tally that season, he did win on a number of horses that went on to prove themselves to be high-class, most notably the Eddie Hales-trained pair of Vodka Bleu and Watson Lake.
The following season saw Crowe strive to continue improving himself as a rider and he duly did. The season began very well for him with him partnering the Roche-trained Rick Accessor to a valuable success in the valuable BETDAQ Hurdle at Tipperary in July. A few months later, in an unusual chronological reversal, having already proven himself as a Champion Amateur rider on the racecourse, Crowe gained his very first win between the flags when winning a point-to-point on No Discount at Roscommon. Having grafted through the winter months, Crowe was almost rewarded with the biggest win of his career when riding the Ted Walsh-trained Never Compromise in the Christie's Foxhunter Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, looking the likely winner at the last only to be out-stayed by Earthmover. However, big-race compensation was not long in coming, as just six weeks later he gained his first Grade 1-win on the Noel Meade-trained Geill Sli in the Paddy Power Champion I.N.H. Flat Race at the Punchestown Festival. It was a reflection of just how competitive the amateur ranks had become in Ireland that despite notching up an improved total of 23 winners at the end of the season, Crowe could only finish fourth in the race for the Champion Amateur title, with that accolade being claimed by Derek O’Connor. With that in mind, and considering his weight was not a problem for him over jumps, it was on the final day of that season that Crowe took the plunge and left the amateur ranks to turn professional.
Life As A Professional
Not unsurprisingly, Crowe’s switch to the professional ranks saw his workload rapidly increase and while he understandably could not maintain the potent strike rate he boasted as an amateur, he still had a more than satisfactory campaign. His biggest win of the season came on the Donal Hassett-trained Lotomore Lad in the valuable Irish Stallion Farms EBF Novice Handicap Chase Final at Navan. At the backend of the season, Crowe had his first attempt at the infamous Aintree Grand National on the Roche-trained Rick Accessor and while the pair got no further than the second fence, it was great for Crowe to take part in the race that every jump jockey dreams about.
The 2005/6 season was the one in which injury began to play a more prominent role in Crowe’s career. The term began on a poor note for him as he missed two months of action after suffering an injury when being unseated from John Oliver in a handicap chase at Cork in mid-May. He was getting back into the swing of things after his return, riding plenty of winners, only to then miss out on most of November and December following a fall at Punchestown. However, he bounced back from that setback by riding Le Coudray to win the valuable paddypowerpoker.com Handicap Hurdle at the Christmas meeting at Leopardstown just two days after returning from that injury.
2006/7 was an even more unfortunate season for him as, having made a very fast start to the new term, riding six winners from just 58 rides, he badly fractured his leg in a fall at Tralee on 20th June 2006. That injury saw him miss the remainder of the year, but he was back in the saddle in mid-January and returned to the winner’s enclosure with a stylish win on the Roche-trained Far From Trouble in a conditions hurdle at Down Royal on February 7th. In the circumstances, his final strike rate of 9% with 10 total winners for the season was very respectable.
Crowe got a clearer run of things in injury terms in 2007/8, getting off to another fast start that saw him ride 10 winners from just 49 rides up until September. However, he was again stopped in his tracks with him missing five weeks after suffering an injury having been brought down when riding for Roche in a handicap hurdle at Uttoxeter in mid-September. He was not long in regaining the winning habit once back on the racecourse and enjoyed another strong run of form up until Christmas, riding another nine winners in that period. Crowe was on target for his best-ever season until his second attempt at the Aintree Grand National fences brought an abrupt end to those ambitions, as his mount Lost Time fell at the third fence in the Topham Chase and Crowe suffered injuries that saw him miss over six weeks of action at the backend of the season, including the Punchestown Festival.
Making Up For Lost Time
Crowe managed to avoid injury even more effectively in 2008/9 and as a consequence, enjoyed his busiest ever season. It was a season of consistent success for Crowe and without doubt his most lucrative partner was the Roche-trained Lethal Weapon, on whom he won two juvenile hurdle events before the pair claimed a hard-fought success in the Grade 1 Durkan New Homes Juvenile Hurdle at the Christmas Festival at Leopardstown. Crowe also enjoyed two successes apiece over hurdles on the Tommy Stack-trained Perce Rock and the Roche-trained Cool Running. Crowe again managed to avoid serious injury in 2009/10 and he registered another solid season. Without question the highlight of his season was his win on the John Coleman-trained Un Hinged in the valuable Ladbrokes.com Handicap Hurdle at the Fairyhouse Easter Festival.
Having finished the 2009/10 campaign on a high, Crowe wasted no time in continuing that momentum into the 2010/11 season. With him remaining mercifully injury free, he rode a steady stream of winners until striking in the valuable Lartigue Hurdle at the Listowel Harvest Festival on the Roche-trained Sword Fish. November would see Crowe’s fortunes improve further still, with him riding the Roche-trained Streets Of Gold to win the Cork Grand National and the Peter Casey-trained Jack The Bus to win the Troytown Handicap Chase at Navan.
With Crowe riding as well as ever in 2010/11 and all importantly, avoiding the injuries that have held him back in the past, he looks well on his way to recording his best-ever season. Now a well-established member of the weighing room, Alan Crowe is very much here to stay and looks to have a long and successful career ahead of him.
Info supplied by Horse Racing Ireland - Updated January 2011
