NOBLE Yeats, ridden by amateur Sam Waley-Cohen, has won the Randox Grand National at Aintree.

Amateur rider Waley-Cohen bowed out from the saddle in perfect fashion with victory in the Randox Grand National.

Trained by Emmet Mullins, the seven-year-old held off 15-2 favourite Any Second Now to win at 50-1. Delta Work was third and Santini fourth.

Talking to ITV Racing, Waley-Cohen said: “It’s a dream. I couldn’t believe it. I’ve got to say thank you, as it’s my last ever ride, to my dad (Robert Waley-Cohen, owner), for unwavering belief and love.

“Over 23 years and never a cross word, never been anything but a dream. It’s been a love affair. To my wife, long-suffering, they aren’t all good days, there are bad days in this sport.

“It’s a fairytale, a fantasy. There’s a lot of love and gratefulness,” Waley-Cohen continued.

“It’s getting on the right horses and getting the luck.

“You couldn’t make it up, could you?”