Noble Yeats springs $95.40 upset in Grand National
Noble Yeats ended a six-race losing streak with an upset win in Saturday’s $1.3 million Grand National Steeplechase at Aintree Racecourse in England, the final mount in the accomplished career of amateur jockey Sam Waley-Cohen.
Noble Yeats ($95.40 in American pools) closed from the rear of the 40-horse field to take a prominent position in the final mile of the race at 4 5/16 miles over 29 fences. Noble Yeats challenged for the lead two fences from the finish and fought off a sustained challenge from 9-1 Any Second Now in the final quarter-mile to win by 2 1/4 lengths.
Delta Work (9-1) finished third, beaten 22 1/4 lengths, after racing in contention two fences from the finish.
Noble Yeats was 50-1 with bookmakers, while Any Second Now was the 15-2 favorite.
Waley-Cohen, 39, is the first amateur jockey to win the Grand National since Marcus Armytage in 1990. Armytage is the racing correspondent for the Daily Telegraph.
Waley-Cohen is the first amateur rider to win the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup, having won the latter on Long Run in 2011. The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the top weight-for-age race for jumpers, while the Grand National is the top handicap.
Waley-Cohen rode Noble Yeats for his father, Robert Waley-Cohen, the former chairman of Cheltenham Racecourse, and trainer Emmet Mullins. Sam Waley-Cohen announced last week that Saturday’s Grand National would be his final mount.
Noble Yeats, an Irish-bred gelding, is a 7-year-old who has won 4 of 12 starts. He is the minimum age of eligibility for the Grand National. Blaklion, 13, was the oldest runner in the field, and finished 14th.
Noble Yeats was ninth of 24 in the Ultima Handicap Chase at 3 1/8 miles at Cheltenham last month prior to the Grand National. His most recent win before Saturday was a Beginners’ Chase at Galway Racecourse in Ireland in October 2020.