“This is beyond words. It’s a fairy-tale, it’s a fantasy, and I’m just full of love, and happiness and gratefulness. I always wanted to go out on a high, and I thought Thursday was going to be that high. It doesn’t get better than this, and that’s it now – out!
“Being on the right horses, getting the luck, having the sun out. I do think Thomas is sitting on my back, I ride with his name on my saddle. These days are family days. Honestly, you couldn’t make it up could you?”
Those were the words of Sam Waley-Cohen who looked to be ending his racing career by winning the Grand National aboard Noble Yeats. Still technically a novice chaser, the eight-year-old went to Aintree at odds of 50/1, yet reigned supreme on that memorable day in April. Now, the duo head to Cheltenham with hopes of rewriting the history books once again in the Gold Cup.
Indeed, Prestbury Park is relatively uncharted waters for Waley-Cohen, who will be competing alongside fellow National winner Rachael Blackmore, who herself made history last year by becoming the first female jockey to win the Gold Cup. Those assessing the Cheltenham Gold Cup betting odds would find it hard to look past Blackmore’s A Plus Tard or stablemate Minella Indo when it comes to the favourites, but the unpredictability of Cheltenham’s feature race could be enough to back Noble Yeats throughout the gruelling three-mile two-furlong race.
Stranger things have happened, and those inside Prestbury Park would surely let both Waley-Cohen and jockey Emmet Mullins experience the full force of the Cheltenham roar if they are to make history. Coming in at 10/1, Noble Yeats could become the first horse in almost 50 years to win both the Gold Cup and Grand National. You would have to go back as far as L’Escargot’s victory at Aintree in 1975, coming four years after he won the second Gold Cup at Cheltenham.
After missing a run at Lingfield back at the start of the year, Waley-Cohen has maintained that Cheltenham is the top priority and has sung Noble Yeats’ praises in the build-up to the Prestbury Park showpiece. “He’s just improved and improved and I don’t think any of us ever thought there would be that much improvement to come from him,” he said.
“It’s nice to have a horse going there to keep everyone interested in Noble Yeats, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say it would be exciting to be lining up with a ride in the Gold Cup – but every day is not a Gold Cup day, is it?”
With so many experienced horses set to race in the Gold Cup, victory could prove a step too far for Noble Yeats this time around, but it’s simply impossible to rule out any outsiders for this one. Willie Mullins-trained Galopin Des Champs and Bravemansgame join De Bromhead’s County Waterford clan as the most likely to pick up the win, but it will be interesting to see if the Cheltenham roar can inspire Mullins and Waley-Cohen the same way Aintree did 10 months ago.
