Noble Yeats, Freddie Gingell and Sir Gino star on the big day in Cheltenham

THE old people are the best and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

On a day where youth took center stage, it was once again the veterans who stole the show.

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What about these vintage cars? They don't even pull at the heartstrings.

And Paisley Park may have fallen agonizingly short in his bid to win a fourth Cleeve Hurdle, but the biggest cheer of the day was reserved for him.

Of course you have to compliment the winner Noble Yeats, who gave Sam Waley-Cohen a famous victory in the Grand National in 2022.

The nine-year-old has found his way back to form over the past 12 months and clever trainer Emmet Mullins has clearly worked his magic again.

But the crowd was never louder than when it looked like Paisley Park would rise in the shadow of the post for one last victory.

No matter how much they wanted him home, he could never quite get there, a courageous defeat instead of a glorious victory.

Still, it wasn't a bad performance for a horse that turned 12 this month and has more miles on the odometer than a second-hand black cab.

They stood twenty or thirty yards deep on the rails to welcome him back in, and the horse stood proud with pointed ears and accepted the applause.

He thinks he's won, and let's keep it that way.

However, the check goes home with Mullins and he confirmed the horse would hold up over the smaller hurdles in the Stayers' Hurdle in March, for which he now has a 10-1 shot (from 16s).

Whether or not Harry Cobden will be on board in six weeks' time remains to be seen, but the top jock, who is now just fifteen winners behind Sean Bowen in the standings, gave the 3-1 odds.

He threw the knight in last place and it was a sink job during the run-in as he completed a big double that day, following up on Ginny's Destiny earlier on the card.

Frankly, Willie's cousin, Mullins, was thrilled.

He grinned: “It was a great race. They were two tough, real horses running to the line.

“It was a bit nerve-wracking and I would say most other people enjoyed it more than me.

“We had to come and do that and stake our claim in the Stayers' Hurdle, and you'd say he'd come in with a good shout now.

“I think a lot of people were surprised when we didn't give him a Gold Cup entry, but last year we had our crack at that and we were put in our place.

“Harry was great against him. The Stayers have been the plan all season and then he will return to Aintree again for the National.”

Poor Emma Lavelle, meanwhile, was put through the wringer again after seeing Paisley Park finish a close second for the third time this winter.

She said: “It's not half stressful following this horse.

“They just went too steady for him, I'd say, and he just hit a flat spot when they accelerated him to the bottom of the hill.

“He's a great horse, there were people in tears after the race and it made me quite emotional.

“He could have started a few steps earlier, but he has made us proud again.”

Elixir Du Nutz upsets Jonbon, while Freddie Gingell wins the first Grade 1

IF you had told Freddie Gingell at the start of the year that he would win a Grade 1, he would have thought you were Nutz.

But the teenage jockey's thrill only went downhill, lowering the colors of the mighty Jonbon in the Clarence House Chase on the gallant Elixir De Nutz.

By all accounts, it was hard to see this outcome coming, but we didn't take into account that Freddie had a little help from above.

As he passed by after this 22-1 stunner trained by his uncle, Joe Tizzard, he looked skyward and blew a kiss to his late mother, Kim.

Four years ago, when Freddie was just 14 years old, she was cruelly struck by cancer.

And he had no doubt about it: she helped him and his horse up the hill as they chased Jonbon by the neck.

He said: “I could feel the will of the crowd, but I felt it more than ever, its influence. I could tell she was there with me.

“This is the most emotional success I've ever had and my mother was up there looking down on me.”

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He already knows what he's going to do with his share of the prize money, after having a prank in the car he's only had for two months.

Freddie grinned: “The gearbox blew up on Thursday night! Fortunately, I can now afford to repair it.”

Mind you, he was also helped by the sloppy jumping of the 1-4 jolly Jonbon, who barely lifted a leg under James Bowen.

He left a huge hole in the fence at the top of the hill and from then on the writing was on the wall.

Nicky Henderson said: “He did remarkably well to get back to where he did. In the end there was no way left, if he had winged he might have won.

“He lost the battle, but not the war.”

Sir Gino impresses in Triumph battles

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THE Gino is out of the bottle… and he is now a red-hot favorite for the Triumph Hurdle.

The hugely promising Sir Gino delivered a mesmerizing performance at Cheltenham as jockey James Bowen beamed: “That's the best horse I've ever ridden.”

Trainer Nicky Henderson admitted he tried to contain his excitement about this horse, at the risk of getting egg on his face.

The four-year-old has stepped up the gallops at Seven Barrows this winter and impressed on his British debut at Kempton over Christmas.

But he improved his form several notches in the Triumph Trial, blowing away previously unbeaten Burdett Road by ten lengths without breaking a sweat.

He jumped like a deer and Bowen never had to pick up his whip as the horse rode clear in the run-up – and he is now 6-4 from 9-2 for the Triumph in March.

Hendo said: “We always thought he was very good, but I didn't want to exaggerate.

“It was very nice to see him go like that and win, the number two was a very good flat horse and had done nothing wrong on the obstacles.

“He obviously has a big motor and he's a great big horse. He could jump a fence tomorrow if you wanted to.

“There's no point in going anywhere else between now and the festival, that would have prepared him perfectly.”

Burdett Road trainer James Owen said: “You never like to be beaten but the winner is obviously very good. We will not lose heart.”

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