Gold Cup joy for amateur Sam Waley-Cohen

Many records were broken amid a patchwork of different stories, with Edinburgh University graduate Sam Waley-Cohen becoming the first amateur rider to claim the sport's most distinguished prize in nearly three decades.

It was a maiden triumph for Nicky Henderson, one of the most distinguished of all trainers, while Long Run is the first successful six-year-old since Mill House back in 1963.

Youth finally crept up on Paul Nicholls' two old masters, Denman and Kauto Star, on their fourth and perhaps final clash, but they were allowed the most honourable of defeats to stay on up the hill for respective second and third places. It was only Imperial Commander, hero of 12 months ago, who could not receive a fitting ovation as he was quickly pulled up after the second-last and was reported to have burst a blood vessel.

Any Gold Cup sets the pulse racing but this one will have provided an even greater rush, with the old guard all lining up together on the treacherous downhill approach to the home straight. But it was to be Long Run's hour, the 7-2 favourite looking every inch as accomplished as in January's King George VI Chase, hurtling seven lengths clear up the run-in after devouring the final fence.

Waley-Cohen, a 28-year-old thrill-seeker riding his father Robert's horse, is someone who seeks to squeeze every experience he can out of life. While his wealth and upper-crust credentials set him apart from rivals in the weighing room, the former politics student competes on an equal footing with men who do not have a string of dental practices to run as well as maintaining their sharpness.

Perhaps the recognition he has earned from the likes of Ruby Walsh as well as Henderson meant as much as anything. "I will have to go back to work on Monday, as we have patients and livelihoods to look after," he said.

"This isn't the day job and I doubt it will sink in until then.

"I've spent so many countless hours thinking about this, and I'll be thinking, 'I've achieved it, what do I do now?'

"The boys at the top have fought tooth and nail to get there, and others are just trying to make ends meet and it's an honour to ride amongst them.

"Not many amateurs have been lucky enough to have a go in this race but the support from everyone has been incredible and I could almost feel them willing me on. It's rough out there. It's a war, a brotherly war, but there's no quarter given."

Reflecting on the race, he added: "We got racing so early and I was having to ask him for huge strides all the time at his fences and I didn't know if we'd be going through them.Over some of those fences you have so much air time that you just hope they get the landing gear out. He's phenomenal."

Long Run had been beaten on his two previous trips to Cheltenham, in the Paddy Power Gold Cup and in last season's RSA Chase, but maturity and the enlisting of schooling guru Yogi Breisner and an apparently mystical holistic healer called Jerome Poupel appeared to have helped him cope with the transition from French racing to British.

Henderson had arrived at the meeting with favourites in many events but it had only been in the race before the Gold Cup that he had actually got off the mark. "The Champion Hurdle has been good to us but the Gold Cup and the National are the two races we were missing. It's nice to get one in the bag," he said.

"It was a great race because all the horses have run great races, there's no disputing it. Kauto Star was probably at his best today, but Long Run is a very good young horse.

"There was just a moment when I thought he needed a bit of daylight going down the hill, but Sam was very confident and he was very professional.

"It was a proper race, all the big boys were there, and it's sort of nice it's over, to be honest."

Waley-Cohen has the initials of his brother, Thomas, who died after a long battle with cancer, stitched into his saddle to inspire him and the Corinthian action man has made his father incredibly proud. "To have a runner in the Gold Cup is an honour, but to have your son riding the winner is a dream," said Waley-Cohen snr.

"He jumped the last really well and I knew they were never going to catch us after that. He's a gorgeous young horse."

This was a time for celebration, but the family are not ruling out another adventure of taking Long Run back to his homeland for a run at Auteuil.

Robert Waley-Cohen said: "I'm tempted to run him again but I have no idea where. You can go to Aintree, Punchestown or Auteuil. There are two races to consider at Auteuil (the Champion Hurdle or Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris) and I'd love to go there, but we had trouble getting him to jump English fences and we need to have a proper think."