Sam Waley-Cohen appeals ban over Long Run effort
Waley-Cohen sent his mount straight into the lead on what was his first start for 672 days and, while he jumped well for much of the three-mile journey, a couple of significant errors led to him coming under pressure.
The Gold Cup winner looked sure to finish third after jumping the final fence, but was eased and stopped to a walk on the run-in, being passed by both Barachois Silver and Durban Gold, meaning he beat just one rival home.
Waley-Cohen was found guilty of failing to take all reasonable and permissible measures to obtain the best possible placing in that he failed to ride out on a horse that could have finished third. Long Run was subsequently retired and Waley-Cohen told At The Races: “The main thing is that he has retired happy and healthy, he’s been a great servant. You have to act in the best interests of the horse. It’s disappointing to pick up a ban and I am going to be appealing, as it didn’t feel it reflected the situation fully.
“I think the main thing is to praise the horse, who has been great for racing for a number of years.”
Waley-Cohen’s ban would rule him out of next month’s Fox Hunters’ Chase at Aintree, a race he has won three times before.
The British Horseracing Authority tweeted: “An appeal has been lodged by Sam Waley-Cohen regarding the seven-day suspension incurred at Carlisle racecourse yesterday. Time and date TBC.”
Long Run was a dual King George VI Chase hero and winner of the Gold Cup. The 11-year-old beat the great Paul Nicholls-trained pair of Denman and Kauto Star in the blue riband at Cheltenham five years ago for Nicky Henderson. He went on to win a second King George VI Chase at Kempton the following year and was placed in the next two renewals of the Gold Cup, but he had not been seen in competitive action since failing to fire in the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris at Auteuil in May 2014.
