Waley-Cohen in Fakenham incident Sam Waley-Cohen will ride Long Run in the King George VI Chase - despite being hit with a 12-day riding suspension at Fakenhan today. He was in a clear lead on Otage De Brion in the New Year's Day Racing At Fakenham Handicap Chase when he bypassed the fence in front of the grandstand with a circuit to run, seemingly taking the wrong course. The stewards gave him a 12-day ban, but it will not begin until January 1st and only applies to days when there are races for amateurs. To that end, he will maintain his alliance with the Nicky Henderson-trained Long Run at Kempton on Boxing Day. "To be honest, what actually happened is I thought he'd swallowed his tongue," he said. "He landed and just made a hell of a noise. He's had an operation before and we normally have a tongue-tie on him, but didn't today. "I knew where I was going. He's one of those horses who's very in and out and one of the problems we've had with him is his breathing." The amateur rider guided Long Run, owned by his father, Robert, to a momentous victories in the King George and the Cheltenham Gold Cup last season. He remains the only jockey to have ridden the six-year-old in Britain. "I've spoken to the stewards and given them my excuse. I've also seen the way it looked and I accept it doesn't look good," Waley-Cohen added on At The Races. "I have to take it on the chin. I'm obviously disappointed." Robert Waley-Cohen added: "It's a huge relief and I'm thrilled for him to be able to show what he's made of."
