LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) – Noble Yeats beat overwhelming odds to win the Grand National on Saturday as amateur jockey Sam Waley-Cohen ended his career with a “fairytale” victory after the favourites failed to finish.
Noble Yeats was an outsider at odds of 50-1 with Any Second Now, last year’s winner Minella Times and Snow Leopardess the pre-race favourites.
Minella Times, ridden by Rachael Blackmore, fell at the Valentine’s Brook fence while Snow Leopardess pulled up before the second circuit.
Any Second Now led the race towards the end and looked set for victory before Noble Yeats surged ahead on the inside to secure a stunning victory, a few days shy of Waley-Cohen’s 40th birthday.
“I can’t say anything, it’s a dream, I couldn’t believe it,” Waley-Cohen told ITV.
“I’ve got to say thank you — because it’s my last ever ride — to dad. Unwavering belief and love, over 23 years and never a cross word. It’s been a love affair.
“To my wife, long-suffering. They aren’t all good days. There are bad days in this sport. She’s always here to support me… It’s a fairytale, it’s a fantasy. Just full of love and happiness and gratefulness.”
Waley-Cohen said his late brother Thomas, who died of cancer, was with him in spirit.
“I do think Thomas is sitting on my back. I ride with his name on my saddle,” he added. “Today is a family day. Honestly, you couldn’t make it up, could you?”
His father and the horse’s owner Robert hailed Sam’s victory, saying it was a “dream come true”.
“I can’t speak, I was shouting too much,” he said. “Just fabulous.”
Noble Yeats’ trainer Emmet Mullins said he could not believe the result after the red-hot favourite Any Second Now was beaten by more than a horse length.
“For Sam to go out on a win like that, you could not write it,” Mullins said. “I was probably more confident a month ago than I was today. It is the stuff of dreams.
“It’s nice when a plan comes together… That last circuit everything seemed to fall into place. I don’t know when this will register.”
(Reporting by Rohith Nair and Alan Baldwin; editing by Ed Osmond and Pritha Sarkar)
