Long Run is a retired

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

racehorse owned by

Robert Waley-Cohen Robert Bernard Waley-Cohen DL (born 10 November 1948 in Westminster, London) is an English entrepreneur. Biography He is the son of Bernard Waley-Cohen and Joyce Waley-Cohen, and grandson of Sir Robert Waley Cohen and Harry Nathan, 1st Baron ...

and trained during his racing career by

Nicky Henderson Nicholas John Henderson (born 10 December 1950) is a British racehorse trainer. He has been British jump racing Champion Trainer six times. Background His father was Johnny Henderson who was one of the founders of the Racecourse Holdings Tru ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

and later by his owner.

Racing career

In January 2011, ridden by amateur jockey Sam Waley-Cohen, the son of owner Robert Waley-Cohen, Long Run won the weather-delayed 2010

King George VI Chase The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of ...

at Kempton Park ahead of stablemate Riverside Theatre in second and

Kauto Star Kauto Star (19 March 2000 – 29 June 2015) was a French-bred National Hunt champion racehorse trained by Paul Nicholls in Somerset and owned by Clive Smith. He was known for his versatility and longevity, being the only horse ever to be top ...

, who was aiming to win the race for a record fifth time, in third. It was later found out that the champion was not at his best and had burst a blood vessel. In March 2011, Long Run provided jockey Waley-Cohen and trainer Henderson with their first

Cheltenham Gold Cup The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlongs (3 ...

winner when he finished clear of previous winners Imperial Commander (who pulled up), Denman, and Kauto Star. Returning in the 2011/12 National Hunt season, Long Run finished second to Kauto Star in both the Betfair Chase and the King George VI Chase, with Kauto Star winning the latter for the fifth time. Long Run had another clash with Kauto Star in the 2012 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He went into the race 7-4 favourite and with Kauto Star recovering from injury. However, both horses were upstaged by JP McManus' horse Synchronised, who won the race by 2 and a quarter lengths from The Giant Bolster, with Long Run finishing in third. On Boxing Day 2012, Long Run, who was the favourite at 15/8, won the King George VI Chase at Kempton. In what was described as "the most gripping finish of recent times," he beat Captain Chris by a neck on the line. Long Run also participated in the

2014 Grand National The 2014 Grand National (officially known as the 2014 Crabbie's Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 167th annual running of the Grand National Horse racing, horse race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. The showpiece Stee ...

Aintree Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, north-east of Liverpool city centre, in North West England. I ...

, but fell at the Valentine's Brook on the first circuit. He followed up with a ninth-placed finish in the

Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris The Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris is a Group 1 steeplechase in France which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Auteuil over a distance of 6,000 metres, and during its running there are twe ...

in May 2014 but was then off the course until March 2016 when he reappeared in a hunter chase at Carlisle. Long Run finished five of the seven runners and his retirement was announced after the race.

References

External links

Upton EstateLong Run
– profile at the Racing Post website
Sky Sports Profile

– ''Long Run'' {{Cheltenham Gold Cup winners 2005 racehorse births National Hunt racehorses Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Cheltenham Festival winners Thoroughbred family 1-x