Few jockeys have had more of an affinity with the Randox Grand National fences than Sam Waley-Cohen. And it seemed fitting that the retiring amateur rider bowed out of racing with a seventh success over the big Aintree fences as he partnered 50-1 outsider Noble Yeats to a dream first victory in the world's greatest steeplechase.
As the sun shone and the returning racegoers at Aintree Racecourse roared them home, Waley-Cohen – who formed Portman Healthcare in 2008, a dental practice – wore the biggest smile on Merseyside.
Having won the 2011 Cheltenham Gold Cup on Long Run, he claimed victory in the Aintree showpiece on his final ride of 23 years in the saddle, becoming the 42nd amateur rider and the first since the now Daily Telegraph journalist Marcus Armytage partnered Mr Frisk in 1990.
