Noble Yeats to bid for Gold Cup-Grand National double

Emmet Mullins has an eye on a famous Gold Cup-Grand National double with reigning Aintree hero Noble Yeats.

Still only an eight-year-old, the bay may have been pulled up on his seasonal debut at Auteuil in October, but convincing wins in Wexford's Listed M.W. Hickey Memorial Chase and in particular Aintree’s Many Clouds Chase have put him in the frame for the Boodles Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

A visit to Lingfield will come first as Mullins is targeting the Fleur De Lys Chase at the Winter Million meeting on Sunday week – after which all roads will lead to Cheltenham for the sport’s blue riband event.

"All going well we’re heading for Lingfield, that’s the plan at the moment," the County Carlow trainer said.

"Maybe half the reason we’re going to Lingfield is so we don’t have to take on Willie (Mullins) and Gordon (Elliott) here. We pick and choose our races I think fairly well and try to get the most out of them.

"The Many Clouds slotted in nicely and we’ll keep tipping away without showing our hand until the day that matters."

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A Randox Grand National defence is still in the works, however, with the Robert Waley-Cohen-owned gelding aiming to emulate Golden Miller and L’Escargot as the only two horses to have won both the Gold Cup and the Grand National.

"The Gold Cup was on the radar for this year from the get-go. It was definitely on the agenda. We spoke with the Waley-Cohens and all going well he was going to be aimed for the Gold Cup and try to come back for the