Long Run takes King George for Henderson
LONG RUN justified a late gamble to deny Kauto Star's bid for a historic King George VI as Nicky Henderson completed a fantastic Kempton five-timer with a one-two in the race, with the defending champion back in third.
All the talk before the race had been whether Kauto Star could win the Grade 1 for the fifth consecutive time but, despite Tony McCoy's best efforts, the chasers couldn't get on terms with the Robert Waley-Cohen-owned six-year-old who romped home by 12 lengths from stablemate Riverside Theatre.
It was the second Grade 1 victory of the afternoon for Henderson, who had earlier seen Binocular come back to his best with victory in the Christmas Hurdle, and in Long Run, has a potential Gold Cup winner on his hands.
Nicky Henderson shared that view as he said: "We've always believed in him and he's shown today what he's been capable of doing.
"He had to come out and do it sometime and since the Feltham everyone has said ‘was that a fluke?' and ‘where's this talking horse?'. Today Sam has given him a wonderful ride. He's got into a rhythm and his jumping was great. I didn't see him put a foot wrong.
"I spoilt the party, I'm sorry. Riverside Theatre has run a wonderful race as well.
"On what I've seen today Long Run is more of a Gold Cup horse rather than a Ryanair horse."
Always travelling well in behind, amateur rider Sam Waley-Cohen had stalked long-time leader Nacarat from the end of the first circuit, and took up the running with three left to jump, before powering away from his rivals.
The delighted jockey said: "That was amazing. He got into a rhythm and picked up - he showed real courage.
"He's a phenomenal horse and I'm so pleased he's shown what he's capable of.
"It's a massive honour to be here and I want to thank dad, Nicky and all the guys at Seven Barrows."
Turning for home only three horses appeared to have a chance, with Nacarat's relentless gallop up front accounting for the majority of his rivals. However, defending champion Kauto Star was still present, with Riverside Theatre slightly detached.
There had been a couple of scruffy jumps down the back from Kauto and, turning in, McCoy was hard at work on the 11-year-old who was being roared on by a capacity crowd.
However, despite McCoy's urgings, the horse looked beaten from the top of the home straight and although managing to battle hard, walking through the second last bought the partnership to a virtual halt as well as his challenge.
This left Long Run in splendid isolation, with stablemate Riverside Theatre sticking on very well from the back to claim second, while the gallant Kauto Star took third with a tired Nacarat in fourth.
Bookmaker reaction was to cut Long Run heavily for the Gold Cup, now as short as 5-1 with Ladbrokes for the Cheltenham showpiece behind Imperial Commander at 4-1. Blue Square also offer 5-1 (from 20) for the race, although 7-1 is available with Victor Chandler.
For Kauto Star, the Gold Cup still remains on the agenda with trainer Paul Nicholls conceding that age may have begun to catch up with him, as he said: "I never thought he looked like winning.
"The mistake cost him second and he was beaten by a younger pair. He's done well to come here five times and I suppose that's why no horse has won five King Georges. It looked like he'd lost half a yard of pace.
Regarding a possible retirement, the champion trainer added:
"He's back safe and sound and that's the important thing. I'm not going to make decisions like that at the moment and I'll talk to Clive [Smith, owner]. There's no reason he can't run in the Gold Cup.
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