Noble Yeats (right) © Photo Healy Racing
James Reveley will take the plum ride on Grand National winner Noble Yeats when he makes his seasonal return for trainer Emmet Mullins at Auteuil on Saturday.
With amateur Sam Waley-Cohen ending his career in fairytale fashion, riding the family-owned 50-1 winner of the Aintree showpiece with his last ride at Aintree in April, Reveley — twice crowned champion jockey in France and again leading the standings — will be aboard the seven-year-old as he lines up in the Grade Three Prix Heros XII Chase.
Sam’s father and Noble Yeats’ owner, Robert Waley-Cohen, is still trying to take in the National success.
He said: “What could be more wonderful than to have a National winner with your son on board?
“We had a second in 2011 (Oscar Time) in the year we won the King George and The Gold Cup with Long Run, and then Sam announced he was going to retire on the Thursday before the National, which was to be his last ever race — you could not have a bigger emotion if you tried.
“We have had some amazing times and of course Sam is the only amateur to win the National and the Gold Cup.
“You have to be lucky enough to get on the right horse, but you still have to deliver.”
Noble Yeats will take on 12 rivals in the two-and-three-quarter-mile chase, with all roads leading to a return to Aintree.
Waley-Cohen added: “We are all very happy, he is in good form and arriving at Auteuil today (Wednesday).
“James Reveley will be schooling him, probably on Friday, and he gets the ride on Saturday if all goes well.
“It is an intermediate distance at 4,400 metres, so dramatically different from the National, but the ground is appropriate, and it is a good race in which he gets no penalties, because they don’t count handicaps, and it is a nice place to start our season. There is enough in our favour.
“His next race, depending on how he goes on Saturday, will be a race where we can find out whether he is just a very fine handicapper or the potential to be a good distance horse.
“Obviously, you have to work backwards from the National, don’t you?”
