The Grand National is such a challenging race that only a few horses can ever hope to claim the win. The event takes place around two laps of the Aintree course and there are 30 fiendish fences standing in the way of the runners and the finishing post.
Two victories in the National is a rare feat indeed. Since racing returned following the Second World War, only two horses have won it in consecutive years.
A Noble Defence?
Noble Yeats certainly hasn’t been ruled out as the Grand National approaches. He’s not quite the favourite, but he is highly rated ahead of the race. Current horse racing odds list Corach Rambler as the outright market leader at 11/2. Noble Yeats is only just behind at 8/1, while the chasers are led by Delta Work at 10/1. Outsiders can often come through, just as Noble Yeats did 12 months ago. Punters looking to bet on Grand National 2023 underdogs can get odds as high as 150/1 for horses such as Mortal and Fakiera.
Can Noble Yeats emulate Tiger Roll with a Grand National double?
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) March 26, 2023
There are strong challenges right through the field, but the markets tell us that Noble Yeats is highly fancied. Can he deliver a rare double at Aintree on April 15th?
Noble Yeats in Numbers
The career of Noble Yeats is an interesting one, and it doesn’t show a horse dominating every race that he enters. Trained by Emmett Mullins, there have been 16 previous outings by this runner, and he has won six of them.
Along with those six victories, Noble Yeats has landed a solitary runner-up slot and he has finished in third twice.
Victory in the Grand National back in 2022 was his biggest achievement, but there have been other notable wins through the years. Noble Yeats followed that success with first place at Wexford last October, and it’s certainly worth noting that he won the Many Clouds Chase on this same Aintree course in December.
It’s a solid if unspectacular record, but it underlines the fact that Noble Yeats has another good chance this year.
Corach Rambler back home after a successful trip to Prestbury Park ?? pic.twitter.com/IRZ1zreO1y
— Racing Post (@RacingPost) March 23, 2023
Can he Claim the Double?
Could Noble Yeats follow in the illustrious hoof-prints of Tiger Roll and Red Rum in 2023? History could be his biggest opponent as those are the only two horses to have won the National in consecutive years since pre-Second World War.
The fact that Tiger Roll won here as recently as 2018 and 2019 offers slightly more hope, but this is clearly a rare achievement.
Another discouraging trend tells us that 12 of the 14 previous winners of this race have entered for the very first time. Experience is surely useful, but Noble Yeats will need to reverse that particular trend.
Of course, there will be a genuine threat from the rest of the field. Corach Rambler is a favourite for a very good reason, and this horse is a recent winner at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
It would be a remarkable achievement, but Noble Yeats is an impressive horse and he may well have the capacity for one more Grand National win.