Yeah Man

The standout moment of Yeah Man's career came at Haydock Park in February 2024, when he won the Grand National Trial — one of the most prestigious prep races on the jump racing calendar. It's a Class 1 race, which means it sits at the very top of the sport in Britain, the sort of race that serious Grand National contenders run in. In fact, trainer Gavin Cromwell said straight after the race that the Irish National was now the plan — a race Yeah Man would only get into off the back of a win like that. When a horse opens a door to a race of that magnitude, it tells you everything about the level it belongs at. Yeah Man has run in four Class 1 races in his career and won one of them — that's a 25% win rate in the sport's elite tier. For context, most horses never compete at that level at all.

Based at Cromwell's yard in Navan, Co. Meath — a stable that has sent out 98 winners this season alone — Yeah Man has most often been ridden by Keith Donoghue, the pair combining for 1 win from 13 races together. That's around 1 in every 13 rides, which reflects the horse's tough environment rather than any lack of ability; this is a horse that runs against the best.

Right now, though, the picture is a little more complicated. Yeah Man hasn't won in six races, with that Haydock victory now 26 months in the past. His most recent run, just two days ago, continued a sequence without a win. Cromwell has been candid about it — the horse stopped quickly on his return run in the Munster National and there's no clear explanation for it. The trainer is pointing him towards the Troytown and similar big staying chases, still believing there's a performance in him. With a horse whose best day included a Grand National Trial, that belief isn't hard to understand.