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Noble Yeats Gives Waley-Cohen Grand National Send Off

Sam Waley-Cohen, who was riding in his final race before retirement, booted home 50-1 shot Noble Yeats (Ire) (Yeats {Ire}) to a 2 1/4-length victory in the G3 Randox Grant National. The amateur rider had announced his pending retirement on Thursday. Any Second Now (Ire) (Oscar {Ire}) was second after running third in 2021, 20 lengths ahead of Cheltenham winner Delta Work (Fr) (Network {Ger}).

“He ran for me, he couldn't go the early pace and I just tried to find pockets to give him a bit of space to run into,” said Waley-Cohen, who was riding in his father Robert's silks for trainer Emmet Mullins. “I found myself on the inner and was going more forward than I wanted to.

“He loves seeing his fences, so I kept trying to find a spot where he could see them. When I asked him he came, but if I just half-asked him he wasn't confident, so I was trying to sit against him–he likes the bit in his mouth and your legs against him.

“I was just trying to get him in that nice rhythm and as soon as I asked him, he went. I thought I'd gone too early [at the last]. I really didn't want to get there then, but as soon as he picked up I thought 'he's gone, he's got this'.

“Dad has always supported me unwaveringly, we've never had a cross word, it's always been for fun. It's been a love affair. To my wife, long-suffering, they aren't all good days, there are bad days in this sport.

“We came here thinking the sun's out, it's your last ride–go and have a nice spin, no expectations. Just enjoy it. It's a dream. I couldn't believe it.”

He added, “I have to thank so many people. People said he was too young at seven, but when you're on a horse that age you can take chances and it paid off. He jumped neatly and I started to think he was really travelling, I started following Santini and then he just started to go forwards.

“He jumped the last well, but then I felt the other horse come to me and I thought he was going to get me. But when I really asked him he kept finding and galloped all the way to the line.

“I was overwhelmed when I crossed the line, but then you have a responsibility to the horse so I had to keep him walking and get some water on him and make sure he was fine. As a jockey your race isn't run until your horse is safe so that was my main thought–then get weighed in and go and enjoy it!

Robert Waley-Cohen said, “He's the only the amateur to have won the Gold Cup, the King George twice and the Grand National. It's so extraordinary.”

Waley-Cohen was given a nine-day ban and a £400 fine by the stewards for overuse of the whip and in the incorrect place in the finish.

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Croke Park Tops Goffs UK Aintree Sale

Back after a two-year COVID-19 hiatus, the 2022 Goffs UK Aintree Sale was topped by the winning point-to-pointer Croke Park (Ire) (Walk In The Park {Ire}) (lot 8) at £400,000. A 4-year-old gelding who ran second at Lingstown on debut in March, the Ballyboy Stables-consigned bay was purchased by Gordon Elliot Racing. His half-brother, Etre Francais (Ire) (Anzillero {Ger}), has placed third in a French listed hurdle. This is the family of the graded-winning chaser Oiseau de Nuit (Fr) (Evening World {Fr}).

Second on the buyers' sheet was lot 1, the high class Put The Kettle On (Ire) (Stowaway {GB}), who is the only mare to win the Cheltenham Festival G1 Champion Chase. Offered by Henry De Bromhead's Knockeen Racing, she was purchased by Highflyer Bloodstock on behalf of Simon Davies for £380,000. Broodmare duty is next for the 8-year-old and she will visit Davies's stallion Planteur (Ire) at Chapel Stud.

Deep Cave (Ire) (Court Cave {Ire}) (lot 17) changed hands for £235,000. Part of the Charlestown Racing draft, the 4-year-old gelding caught the eye of Henry De Bromhead. The grandson of listed hurdle winner Soupinette (Fr) (Presenting {GB}) won a maiden point-to-point at Belclare by six lengths at first asking on Mar. 20.

Of the 32 horses catalogued, 31 went through the ring and 27 sold (87%) for a gross of £3,656,000. The new record average was £135,407 (+6%) and the median dipped to £95,000 (-10%). A baker's dozen (13) of lots made six figures, with seven of those reaching £200,000 or more.

Goffs UK Managing Director Tim Kent commented, “It's great to be back. That was how we marketed this sale in the build-up as we have missed it over the last two years and to see it produce new records on what was a very important return this year is a wonderful feeling. Of the 13 six-figure lots, seven made £200,000 or more, clearly demonstrating the quality that was on offer and the demand for these top-class horses.

“We are in debt to our vendors for their support once again. Aintree is a proven world-class venue and the sale's two-year absence had no impact on their desire to send their best. We would also like to extend our thanks to the Aintree Racecourse executives for their continued partnership and support. Today has been a great day and we are looking forward to our next major NH Sale–the Spring Sale–in Doncaster in May.”

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Worldwide Broadcasters to Show Randox Grand National

The G3 Randox Grand National at Aintree Racecourse will receive international TV exposure on Apr. 9, as approximately 30 broadcasters will show the iconic race. Due to begin at 5:15 p.m. local time, the race will feature 40 runners over 4 miles 2 1/2 furlongs. The Jockey Club, Racecourse Media Group (RMG), and HBA Media have secured a wide range of broadcasters, including several first-time takers. New broadcasters of the Aintree showpiece are: Eclat (14 countries in South-East Asia), NENT (Scandinavia), Watch4 (Germany, Switzerland and Austria) and Polsat (Poland). Wasu.TV and Sony Pictures Network will put on a one-hour show of the race in China and India, respectively. Selected airlines and cruise-lines will be showing live coverage via the Sport 24 network.

CNN will cover the race for its flagship World Sport programme, while magazine Trans World Sport will provide added exposure. Reuters will provide international coverage of the race, as well. ITV will provide coverage of the race via BFBS, which provides media services to the UK Armed Forces.

Dickon White, The Jockey Club's Regional Director for the North West, said, “The Randox Grand National is the biggest Jumps race in the world, if not the biggest race in the world, and merits a truly worldwide TV audience–which I'm delighted to say is exactly what we've got. I hope our extensive list of broadcasters, both new and old to the event, enjoy one of the great sporting spectacles.”

Among the list of TV broadcasters are:

Broadcasters in North and South America, plus the Caribbean: TVG, NYRA (US); Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, HPI (Canada); ESPN Star+ (50 countries in Latin America, Caribbean) and SportsMax (32 countries in Caribbean).
Africa, MENA and Sub-Continent: SuperSport (48 countries in Africa), Racing 240 (16 countries in Southern Africa), Dubai Racing Channel, Yas TV (both 17 countries in MENA), Sony Pictures Network (India)
Asia Pacific: Sky Thoroughbred Central (Australia), Trackside (New Zealand), Green Channel (Japan, highlights), Wasu.TV (China, highlights)
European broadcasters: ITV (UK); Racing TV (UK, Republic of Ireland); Virgin Media 1 (Republic of Ireland); Equidia (France); SilkNet (Georgia); NENT (Scandinavia), Polsat (Poland), Setanta (Baltics and Eurasia), SSport (Turkey)
RMG's own TV channel, Racing TV, will also show the race in 10,000 pubs and clubs in the UK and Ireland.

Radio listeners will enjoy live coverage in the UK courtesy of BBC Radio 5 Live and talkSPORT, while Racing TV Radio, which syndicates audio on behalf of Aintree Racecourse, will distribute to regional, national and international news stations.

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Award, Trust Launched In Paterson’s Honour

The Rose Paterson Community Sportswoman Award and the Rose Paterson Trust will be launched in honour of the late Aintree Chairman Rose Paterson, who died last June.

Paterson's daughter Evie Paterson shared the news while introducing the sixth annual Aintree Grand Women's Summit, which was held via Zoom. The theme was Sport and Mental Health: A Powerful Relationship.

Evie Paterson said, “It shouldn't be me here at all; it should be my mother. She always did the introductions to the Grand Women's Summit so beautifully and so gracefully, and I cannot hope to fill her shoes. What I can do is say a few words about her legacy. It is easy to forget what a novel initiative the Grand Women's Summit was when it was set up, and even now remains a fairly unique event in the racing calendar. As the first female chairman of a National Hunt racecourse, she herself understood what it was like to operate in a man's world and was passionate about helping women succeed in racing and sport more broadly.

“I would also like to touch on Aintree's ties with the Merseyside community. She [Rose] understood that Aintree and the Grand National belonged to Liverpool, and did a huge amount to forge and strength the links between the racecourse and Merseyside. To bring all these aspects of her legacy together, we are launching the Rose Paterson Community Sportswoman Award. This will be an annual award given by Aintree to recognise a girl or woman from Merseyside who is making a difference to grassroots community sport, through participation or support. We want to reward girls and women, sportspeople or otherwise, who display the qualities that my mother possessed in abundance–perseverance, selflessness, devotion and inclusiveness.”

The Rose Paterson Trust, to aid suicide prevention, will be launched on Saturday, Grand National Day at Aintree.

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