RANDOX GRAND NATIONAL NEWS: SAM WALEY-COHEN HAILS “GENIUS” EMMET MULLINS AS NOBLE YEATS BIDS TO EMULATE RED RUM
Randox Grand National-winning jockey Sam Waley-Cohen has heaped praise on “genius” trainer Emmet Mullins as Noble Yeats bids to become the first horse since Red Rum to regain the Aintree crown, insisting: “If anyone can do it then Emmet can.”
The 2022 winner has been rated 165 for this year’s race, meaning he must carry 11st 8lb on Saturday 13th April – 12 months after handicapper Martin Greenwood rated him 166.
And while reclaiming the Grand National is a feat not repeated since Red Rum triumphed in 1977, connections have good reason to believe their nine-year-old star has the ability to win at Aintree again.
Before then he will try to win the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, having won the McCoy Contractors Cleeve Hurdle at jump racing HQ in January against seasoned campaigners like Paisley Park, Dashel Drasher and Champ.
Waley-Cohen, whose family own Noble Yeats, was on board the gelding for his shock 50-1 Grand National victory two years ago in his final ride as an amateur jockey before hanging up his saddle.
He said: “Emmet Mullins is rightly called out as a genius and I think if anyone can do it then Emmet can.
“The plan is still to run him at Cheltenham and then at Aintree. He’s obviously got a liking for the course at Aintree and he’s in good form. Everyone likes a nice weight but we’ll see if he can do it again.”
Asked if he still thinks about his emotional day in the saddle two years ago, Waley-Cohen said: “In many ways it still feels like yesterday and feels fresh in the memory. It was such a great day. It’s just great to see him running with such enthusiasm and showing what he can do.
“We always get excited weeks before the Grand National so it’s such a privilege to have a horse like him. It’s so hard to have a horse in these races so I’d say we’re already excited and by the time the day arrives everyone will be nearly boiling over!
“It’ll just be a great family day. My kids will come up and my parents will be there. It’ll be great.”
Asked for his verdict on the weight given to his stable star, trainer Emmet Mullins added: “I suppose with a horse like Noble Yeats he always runs his race.
“He’s never going to have much up his sleeve with the handicapper so we can’t complain with our weight and fingers crossed he’ll show up on the day and run another cracking race.
“He ran a cracking race off 166 last year so if we get him back in the same shape he might get into a place again. He’s had two goes at the course before and he enjoys it there.”
Referring to his next outing at Cheltenham, Mullins continued: “He should be bang there for the Stayers’ Hurdle with a good each way chance and fingers crossed he runs his race in that as well.”
Mullins’ only other entry in the Randox Grand National, Its On The Line, ran in a Hunter Chase at Down Royal earlier this season, which makes him ineligible to take part in the 2024 National.
