Tag Archive for: Emmet Mullins

Noble Yeats aiming to underline Gold Cup claims in Cotswold trial

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Robert Waley-Cohen is excited to see whether Noble Yeats can cement his Gold Cup claims with a bold showing in the Paddy Power Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham on Saturday.

The eight-year-old provided the Waley-Cohen family with a day they will never forget at Aintree last spring when claiming Grand National glory under the owner’s amateur jockey son Sam, on what proved to be his final ride before retiring from the saddle.

Emmet Mullins’ charge was pulled up on his return to action at Auteuil in October, but bounced back with victory at Wexford a couple of weeks later before throwing his hat into the Gold Cup ring with a seriously impressive display in Aintree’s Many Clouds Chase the following month.

The Waley-Cohens have already tasted Gold Cup success, with Long Run memorably seeing off Denman and Kauto Star in 2011, and Noble Yeats is a best priced 7-1 to become only the third horse to win the blue riband and the Grand National after L’Escargot and Golden Miller.

But while Waley-Cohen is hopeful his charge can make his presence felt in a fascinating clash with last year’s Gold Cup third Protektorat – winner of the Betfair Chase at Haydock in November – he warns the result is not the be-all and end-all, with the big day still seven weeks away.

“It’s a very hot race. There’s six very good horses in it and obviously Protektorat has done brilliantly, finishing third in a Gold Cup and winning the Betfair Chase,” said Waley-Cohen.

“It will be very interesting and I think it will be good for Noble Yeats to get some more experience of the course.

“But as we keep reminding ourselves, the Cotswold Chase is a furlong shorter than the Gold Cup and I’m not sure I would read too much into the result. This is not the Gold Cup and whatever happens, we’ve still got to meet the likes of A Plus Tard and Galopin Des Champs.”

While doing his best to dampen expectations, Waley-Cohen reports Noble Yeats to have travelled over from Ireland in rude health.

He added: “I don’t want to put anyone off and say we haven’t got him ready, because he certainly is ready. He’s ready to do himself justice, but I hope there’ll be a fraction to work on.

“Trainers like to have their horses super sharp for the big day, but that is not to say they can’t win earlier in the season, of course.

“Protektorat appears to be the best of the British, although given that Noble Yeats spent the entire summer here and I own him, I must admit it’s hard to think of him as Irish, even though he’s Irish bred and Irish trained!

“He’s spent a couple of days with us this week after travelling over and he seems in very happy form.”

Dan Skelton is excited to see Protektorat back on the racecourse, having elected to keep his powder dry since his brilliant Haydock success in November.

Harry Skelton celebrates winning the Betfair Chase with Protektorat
Harry Skelton celebrates winning the Betfair Chase with Protektorat (Nigel French/PA)

He said: “Everything has been really good since Haydock and I’m very happy with him. He looks fantastic and we always wanted to come here after his last run.

“For a few days after Haydock he was a bit quiet but he came out of it sound and healthy, so there was never any issue on that part. Since then we have slowly built him back up and he is fresh and well.

“He has not been for any away days but he is flying around the place and I’d like to think even though Noble Yeats is coming over, he can run well. It should be a good race and I think you should hopefully see something very positive.”

Frodon won the Cotswold Chase four years ago for Paul Nicholls and returns for another tilt after the cold snap scuppered an intended appearance at Taunton last weekend.

The popular veteran is three years older than each of his rivals at the age of 11, but his trainer expects him to run his usual solid race.

“Frodon is fresh and well and he will run a good race, but he might be vulnerable to some of those younger legs again,” said Nicholls.

“It was a shame the Portman Cup at Taunton was called off last week, but he likes Cheltenham and especially the New Course so you just never know.

“He looks as well as I’ve seen him look. He schooled on Monday and he worked great.

“He has an outside chance of winning, but he could run well and get placed.”

Sounds Russian in action at Southwell
Sounds Russian in action at Southwell (Mike Egerton/PA)(

Sounds Russian was fourth behind Noble Yeats at Aintree in the autumn and has since pushed Into Overdrive close in the Rowland Meyrick.

Trainer Ruth Jefferson expects to have a clearer idea of what the future holds for her stable star after Saturday’s race.

She said: “Saturday will tell us where we go with him. He’s got a Gold Cup entry and he will have a handicap entry somewhere.

“He’s grand and doesn’t take a lot of training – he is quite straightforward. We’ve been pleased with him since Wetherby.”

The Lucinda Russell-trained Ahoy Senor was just ahead of Sounds Russian when third in the Many Clouds Chase, but that promising effort is sandwiched by disappointing runs in the Charlie Hall at Wetherby and the King George at Kempton.

Ahoy Senor needs to bounce back to form
Ahoy Senor needs to bounce back to form (Tim Goode/PA)

Russell is keeping her fingers crossed the eight-year-old can re-establish himself as a force to be reckoned with, saying: “He was a freak as a hurdler and a freak as a novice chaser and he did extremely well as a novice chaser.

“But he was running on pure ability, whereas this year he has had to knuckle down and learn how to really race properly.

“He can’t just boss fields like before in the company he’s been running in and I’d like to think with that bit of confidence he has got from the runs he has had this season, he could build on that and if he does build on that, we might create a monster again.”

The field is completed by Nicky Henderson’s outsider Dusart, who returns to the larger obstacles after finishing sixth over hurdles on his seasonal debut at Cheltenham last month.

Cotswold Chase target for Lingfield absentee Noble Yeats

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Grand National hero Noble Yeats is set to be rerouted to the Paddy Power Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham on Saturday week after an administrative error ruled him out of Sunday’s Fleur De Lys Chase at Lingfield.

The Emmet Mullins-trained eight-year-old provided amateur rider Sam Waley-Cohen with a fairytale success in last year’s renewal of the Aintree spectacular, on what proved to be his final ride.

Noble Yeats was pulled up on his reappearance at Auteuil, but has since impressed in winning a Listed prize at Wexford and Aintree’s Many Clouds Chase, with the latter success in particular thrusting him into the Cheltenham Gold Cup picture.

Connections identified the £165,000 Fleur De Lys Chase as a suitable next port of call – but it was confirmed on Tuesday that he will not be able to line up as the horse’s vaccination record is not compliant with the Rules of Racing.

The British Horseracing Authority said in a statement that a change to the rules came into effect this month, following a 12-month transition period to allow trainers to adjust to the changes to the vaccine booster intervals.

Owner Robert Waley-Cohen, however, feels improvements to the entry system could still be made.

He said: “It’s disappointing, but the ground at Lingfield could be awful. They’ve covered what was waterlogged ground because of the frost, which is not a good combination, and they’ve already abandoned racing on Friday, so maybe we’ve dodged a bullet.

“On the other hand, I don’t really understand why the programme is set up in such a way that they don’t advise you that more information is required until the deadline has passed.

Robert Waley-Cohen (right) with Noble Yeats
Robert Waley-Cohen (right) with Noble Yeats (Brian Lawless/PA)

“Whenever you’re making entries, surely it should trigger something to say you need to upload some more information.

“I’ve just got on a flight and when you’re checking in they say you need to input your Covid information and your visa information, then you can select a seat and check-in. They don’t say when you turn up at the door ‘sorry you can’t fly today because you haven’t uploaded your information’.

“I think it’s disappointing that they don’t have a trigger saying ‘thank you for you entry, you need to to give us more information before this entry becomes valid’.

“A great many people are getting caught out with it because obviously vaccination is an ongoing thing and you have to keep on uploading on a regular basis for different horses – and people make administrative errors, that’s why they’re trainers and not businessmen.”

When asked whether he had discussed an alternative plan with Mullins, Waley-Cohen added: “We’ve had lots of chat and I think it’s almost certain that he’ll go to the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham six days later.”

Noble Yeats forced to miss Lingfield engagement

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Grand National hero Noble Yeats will miss his intended appearance at Lingfield this weekend after it emerged he does not qualify for Sunday’s Fleur De Lys Chase.

The Emmet Mullins-trained eight-year-old provided amateur rider Sam Waley-Cohen with a fairytale success in the Aintree spectacular last year, on what proved to be his final ride.

Noble Yeats was pulled up on his reappearance at Auteuil, but has since impressed in winning a Listed prize at Wexford and Aintree’s Many Clouds Chase, with the latter success in particular thrusting him into the Cheltenham Gold Cup picture.

Connections identified the £165,000 Fleur De Lys Chase as a suitable next port of call – but it was confirmed on Tuesday that he will not be able to line up as the horse’s vaccination record is not compliant with the Rules of Racing.

A BHA spokesman said: “The BHA can confirm that Noble Yeats is not qualified to take part in the Fleur de Lys Chase (Class 2) at Lingfield Park on Sunday, as the horse’s vaccination record is not compliant with the Rules of Racing.

“Vaccinations must have been administered, uploaded to the Weatherbys App and verified by a veterinary surgeon before the close of entries to avoid a horse being NQd. In the case of Noble Yeats, this process was not completed in time, meaning the horse is not qualified to run.

“This change to the Rules of Racing came into effect this month, following a 12-month transition period to allow trainers to adjust to the changes to the vaccine booster intervals. The BHA and IHRB have taken a co-ordinated approach to its implementation.”

National hero Noble Yeats being aimed at famous big-race double

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Emmet Mullins has an eye on a famous Gold Cup-Grand National double with reigning Aintree hero Noble Yeats.

Still only an eight-year-old, the bay may have been pulled up on his seasonal debut at Auteuil in October, but convincing wins in Wexford’s Listed M.W. Hickey Memorial Chase and in particular Aintree’s Many Clouds Chase have put him in the frame for the Boodles Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

A visit to Lingfield will come first as Mullins is targeting the Fleur De Lys Chase at the Winter Million meeting on Sunday week – after which all roads will lead to Cheltenham for the sport’s blue riband event.

“All going well we’re heading for Lingfield, that’s the plan at the moment,” the County Carlow trainer said.

“Maybe half the reason we’re going to Lingfield is so we don’t have to take on Willie (Mullins) and Gordon (Elliott) here. We pick and choose our races I think fairly well and try to get the most out of them.

“The Many Clouds slotted in nicely and we’ll keep tipping away without showing our hand until the day that matters.”

A Randox Grand National defence is still in the works, however, with the Robert Waley-Cohen-owned gelding aiming to emulate Golden Miller and L’Escargot as the only two horses to have won both the Gold Cup and the Grand National.

Emmet Mullins points the way at his County Carlow base
Emmet Mullins points the way at his County Carlow base (The Jockey Club)

“The Gold Cup was on the radar for this year from the get-go. It was definitely on the agenda. We spoke with the Waley-Cohens and all going well he was going to be aimed for the Gold Cup and try to come back for the Grand National afterwards,” Mullins said.

“I definitely wouldn’t rule him out of the Gold Cup. It’s a stayer’s race and I can compare him to something like Hedgehunter, who won the Grand National and was second in a Gold Cup afterwards. I think he can be there or thereabouts.

“We’re still heading for the National and I suppose after our performance in the Many Clouds in Aintree, we won’t be looked after too well in the weights, but I think a horse like him grows in that scenario and I can’t see any reason why we shouldn’t fancy our chances going back again.”

Noble Yeats crossing the line at Aintree
Noble Yeats crossing the line at Aintree (Steven Paston/PA)

He added: “I hadn’t realised until I heard over the weekend that only two horses have won the Gold Cup and the Grand National. I suppose it adds to it, but I’ll be blocking that out anyway.

“Lucky for me and the horse it won’t register with us!”