Sam Waley-Cohen

Sam Bernard Waley-Cohen (born 15 April 1982) is an English entrepreneur and retired amateur National Hunt jockey.[1]

Sam Waley-Cohen
Born (1982-04-15) 15 April 1982
Westminster, London, England
Major racing wins
King George VI Chase 2011
Cheltenham Gold Cup 2011
Grand National 2022
Significant horses
Long Run
Noble Yeats

Horse racing

Waley-Cohen was reported in the sports pages in 2007[2] when he came 5th on his father's horse Liberthine in the Grand National. He won the delayed 2010 King George VI Chase in January 2011 on Long Run, preventing Kauto Star from winning the race for a record fifth consecutive year.[3]

In 2011 Waley-Cohen also won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Long Run.[4][5] He is the first amateur jockey in 30 years to win the race. In the 2012 and 2013 runnings they finished third to Synchronised and Bobs Worth respectively.[6]

In 2022 Waley-Cohen announced that he would be retiring and that his 2022 Grand National ride on Noble Yeats would be his last.[7] He went on to win the race with final odds at 50/1.[8] Waley-Cohen became the first amateur jockey to win the Grand National since Marcus Armytage on Mr Frisk in 1990.[9] Having also finished second in the 2011 Grand National on Oscar Time,[5] and won seven races on the Grand National course from 41 rides, this made him the most successful course jockey of the modern era.[10]

Business interests

Waley-Cohen started his career at Louis Dreyfus Trading Ltd in London, spending time with the successful sugar trading division.[11] Waley-Cohen has also built up the Portman Dentalcare chain of dental practices since he started the business in 2009. By March 2011 the business had grown to eight dental practices employing 170 staff[4] and by 2013 it has grown to 15 dental practices.[12] His business activities saw him nominated as Spears young entrepreneur of the year in 2011.[13]

In 2020 the Portman Group had grown to over 160 practices and expanded to operate across Europe.[14] In 2023 Portman acquired Dentex Health. When combined they will operate more than 350 practices, with 2,000 clinicians and 4,000 employees, providing dental care for over 1.5 million patients per year. The move will also make them one of Europe's largest dental care platforms, operating in five European countries. [15]

Personal life

Waley-Cohen is the son of Felicity Ann (Samuel) and businessman, racehorse breeder and trainer Robert Waley-Cohen, nephew of the theatre owner and producer Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen Bt. Joanna Waley-Cohen, provost at NYU Shanghai, and collegiate professor and professor of history in the NYU History Department in New York[16] and grandson of Lord Mayor of London, Sir Bernard Waley-Cohen. The founder of Shell Oil -Marcus Samuel, 1st Viscount Bearsted- was his great-great-grandfather. Waley-Cohen was educated at Dragon School and St Edward's School, Oxford followed by the University of Edinburgh.

Waley-Cohen married Annabel Ballin in 2012.[17]

Waley-Cohen is a celebrity ambassador for The Bone Cancer Research Trust (BCRT). He is also a trustee of the Injured Jockeys Fund, and founder of the TAWC Fund.[18]

References
  1. "Growing Gains". www.spearswms.com. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  2. "Sam Waley-Cohen - Grand National Jockey". Grand National Guide. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  3. "Kauto Star third as Long Run wins King George VI". BBC. 15 January 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  4. Chadband, Ian (15 March 2011). "City slicker Sam Waley-Cohen swaps his suit for silks in Gold Cup". Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  5. The Daily Telegraph, 9 March 2012, Online, accessed 9 Mar 12
  6. "RACING: Waley-Cohen disappointed by Long Run's defeat". Oxford Mail. 16 March 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  7. "'It's the right moment' - Gold Cup winner Waley-Cohen to retire after National". racingpost.com. 8 April 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  8. "Grand National 2022: Amateur Sam Waley-Cohen wins with 50-1 Noble Yeats on his final ride". Guardian. 9 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  9. "'A fantasy' - the story behind amateur jockey's Grand National fairytale". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  10. "Sam becomes most successful course jockey". Grand National. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  11. Marcus Armytage (7 February 2007). "Sam working hard to be National hero". London: telegraph.co.uk.
  12. "Sam Waley-Cohen: Mountaineer, businessman, pilot, skier... oh, and jockey". The Independent. London. 11 March 2011.
  13. "Spear's Wealth Management Awards 2011: Winners | Spear's WMS". Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  14. "Andrea Ubhi chats with Sam Waley-Cohen – Dentistry Online". Dentistry.co.uk. 27 June 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  15. "Portman Dental Care merger will create the UK's largest privately focused dental group". www.punchline-gloucester.com. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  16. "Waley-Cohen, Joanna". Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  17. "How to manage your monster-in-law". 23 November 2016.
  18. "Sam Waley-Cohen And The Success Of Amateur Jockeys Recognised by British Horseracing Authority With Improved Financial Contribution". British Horseracing Authority.
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