Long Run triumph is beginning of end for Kauto Star

He waved his whip to the skies, both in triumph at landing racing's mid-season championship, and in memory of his brother, Thomas, who succumbed to cancer at the tragically young age of 20. This win was for him, the one-time soul mate whose initials have been poignantly embroidered into Waley-Cohen's saddle.

"He was a brave fellow whose attitude was to get on with it. Tom dying brought an element of my seizing the moment and making the most of every second of every day," said the victorious rider.

He certainly did. As well as seeing time finally catch up on the brilliant career of four-time King George winner Kauto Star who, surely, deserves to be retired rather than raced to breaking point – the 11-year-old owes connections nothing – this was also a triumph for Corinthian values.

The greatest victory by an amateur jockey since rider-turned-journalist, Marcus Armtytage, won the 1990 Grand National on Mr Frisk, 28-year-old Waley-Cohen lives life at a daredevil pace. A born adventurer, he has his own pilot's licence – and runs a flourishing dental practice that employs 150 people.

And, when he has time, this accomplished horseman – he has winning form over Aintree's Grand National fences – rides the string of horses that are owned by his millionaire father, Robert, and trained by Nicky Henderson.

Yet, while Waley-Cohen has proven on countless occasions, to be as proficient as the pros, he would not have won the King George VI Chase – delayed by nearly three weeks because of snow – without such a willing horse.

Previously prone to jumping blunders, in spite of his undoubted class, Long Run's relentless schooling paid off as he produced a near blemish-free round of jumping, much to the relief of Henderson who was reticent about his charge's chances at Huntingdon 24 hours earlier.

Allowed to settle as Nacarat, the Charlie Hall Chase winner, set an imposing gallop, the French import was always travelling smoothly, towards the vanguard of a select field, while Kauto Star's jumping lacked fluency.

As the field turned towards home, Long Run jumped to the front as Nacarat dropped away and Kauto Star showed signs of distress under McCoy.

By then, the race was over. A near-calamitous mistake at the penultimate fence, the champion jockey miraculously stayed in the saddle, put paid to Kauto Star's chances as Long Run galloped home 12 lengths clear of stablemate Riverside Theatre, owned by actor James Nesbitt, with McCoy's weary-looking mount a further seven lengths in arrears.

That the vanquished Kauto Star was greeted by a standing ovation as he returned to the unsaddling enclosure was indicative of the racing public's affection for a true champion, and an acknowledgement that his best days are behind him. It is perhaps fitting that his King George record remains the equal of Desert Orchid, the people's horse, and whose own attempt to land the Kempton feature for a fifth defeat ended with the ignominy of a heavy fall.

Yet, while Waley-Cohen certainly silenced those who believed Long Run should have been ridden by a 'top' jockey, and that amateur riders have no place in such prestigious contests, it would be premature to assume that this is a Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning combination in the making.

Both of Long Run's defeats in this country have been laboured affairs at Cheltenham where he paid a heavy price for poor jumping in the RSA Chase last March and, more recently, the Paddy Power Gold Cup.

History is also against Long Run. No horse as young as six had captured chasing's blue riband since the iconic Mill House in 1963, but Waley-Cohen senior admits the Gold Cup is now a realistic prospect.

"I think he'll stay. He didn't seem to be running out of stamina. You need plenty of stamina to win that race because they go pretty quick and there's no time for a breather. There's no mercy out there," said Waley-Cohen. "He hasn't quite lived up to expectations in two runs at Cheltenham, but there were valid reasons."