Noble Yeats soars from Leopardstown bumper to National glory in just over a year

After talking last week about the number of former pointers running in the Grand National it was good to see one of them win the great race.

Better still, Noble Yeats is a horse I've ridden twice. It's a tribute to the skill of Emmet Mullins that this amazing win came only 14 months after I rode him in the Grade 2 bumper at the Dublin Racing Festival.

I rode him again only a few months back in the Paddy Power at Leopardstown. He was well fancied that day, but it was only his fourth run over fences and his inexperience was a factor when things got a bit tight and the pace quickened down the back straight. I reckon he learned a lot from the race.