Noble Yeats forced to miss Lingfield engagement

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.”