Sam Waley-Cohen won't reverse his decision to retire from the saddle after winning the Randox Grand National aboard 50-1 shot Noble Yeats at at Aintree Racecourse on Saturday.
But the 39-year-old admits it may “feel like a girlfriend going off with someone else” when he sees Noble Yeats back on the track with another jockey in the saddle.
Waley-Cohen landed a seventh victory over the big Aintree fences but a first in the world's greatest steeplechase when he partnered the Emmet Mullins-trained seven-year-old to a two-and-a-quarter-length victory over 15-2 favourite Any Second Now over the weekend.
The amateur rider's day job is owning dental firm Portman Healthcare which he formed in 2008 and remains its CEO.
READ MORE: Noble Yeats gives Sam Waley-Cohen the perfect send-off
And having landed so much success at Aintree as a jockey as well at the 2011 Cheltenham Gold Cup and 2012 King George VI Chase aboard Long Run, victory in the Grand National was the perfect end to a sparkling career in racing.
Waley-Cohen has been helped in his sporting achievements by his father Robert Waley-Cohen, who has owned all his partners in glory and Noble Yeats also sported his famous brown and oragne colours in his victory on Merseyside.
It has been a real family affair during his time in the saddle and the Waley-Cohens flew to Ireland yesterday to see Noble Yeats and County Carlow trainer Emmet Mullins, who was winning the race with his first ever runner.
Speaking to The Jockey Club yesterday, Waley-Cohen said: “I’ll 100% be back to work on Monday! Life keeps moving and one of the things that I’ve learned is things like these are incredible highs and you’ve got to have a steady reintroduction back into life, otherwise the down is too severe, so it’s actually quite helpful to get on with things.
“I’ll be in the office and we’ve got a conference in Manchester on Tuesday and I’ll be there so it’s just onwards really. It’s great and there’s nothing better than having people there to support you.”
Despite wininng the Grand National in his 10th ride – Oscar Time's second-placed finish in 2011 being his previous best – he insists he will not return to the saddle.
Waley-Cohen, who turns 40 next Friday, said: “Other jockeys have carried my dad’s colours before. Work is that busy that I haven’t been able to ride every horse.
“When you have a horse like Noble Yeats it’s going to feel like a girlfriend going off with someone else I suppose!
“In this situation though it’s all with pleasure, they’re family days and you can still enjoy it as a family day even if you’re not riding.”
The Waley-Cohens didn't have any big parties on Saturday night – instead taking a long trip home in the car with Sam's wife Annabel, 40, at the wheel.
Waley-Cohen was the 42nd amateur rider to win the Grand National and the first since the now Daily Telegraph journalist Marcus Armytage partnered Mr Frisk in 1990. But he is now the only amateur to win both the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National.
He added: “To be honest it was a long journey home!
“We ended up sat in a traffic jam so I had a chance to read my messages and there was so much goodwill after it and so many incredible messages. I enjoyed watching the replays and replying to people and enjoying it really.
“It feels different to winning the Gold Cup on Long Run and you get a real sense that this is the people’s race. The Grand National captures everybody’s imagination in a different way to the Gold Cup and you just get the sense of the excitement. It feels like lots of people have really enjoyed the story, which is very special.
“My phone is burning red hot! It’s so nice because I’ve had so many nice messages and so many kind words and that’s actually what you remember in the long term I think.
“I watched the race back with the social media guys at The Jockey Club at the racecourse before heading home. I had actually walked the course to give some tips to one of the jockeys Alice (Stevens) who hadn’t ridden it before on the Thursday.
“They recorded all that and then on the Saturday they said to me they weren’t really expecting that to be a chat from the Grand National-winning jockey! I’ve seen the race back and we certainly got lucky, what a charmed run round!”
Many of Waley-Cohen’s family and friends were in attendance at Aintree to see history being made, including wife Annabel and his children Max, nine, Scarlet, six, and two-year-old Xander. However, but there were exceptions, including his sister who was abroad and his brother Thomas, who tragically died of cancer aged 20 in 2004.
READ MORE: Ted Walsh gutted by Any Second Now loss but hails Waley-Cohens
He added: “My sister was sadly away on a holiday which she’d booked and had kept being moved back due to the pandemic so unfortunately she couldn’t make it, but it was pretty much a full family affair other than that.
“My kids will never forget it and I think the older two are just completely overwhelmed by it. It was a surreal experience and you couldn’t get bigger than that so they’ll spend a long time hunting for another day like it!
“They loved it and we’ve had a good family day today, enjoying breakfast with the trophy on the table! We’ll definitely have pictures all around the house for years to come.
“Days like those are family days and as a family if somebody is not there it’s very noticeable. Your mind always goes to Thomas on these days, but it’s joy of happiness and also a little bit of reflection.
“Dad’s trying to get everything organised so we’re going to see if we can’t get ourselves over to Ireland in time for this evening’s ‘homecoming’.”
As an amateur he doesn't get a share of the £1million prize-money with the winning jockey pocketing around £50,000. But Waley-Cohen explained that some of the money, like when he won in 2011 Cheltenham Gold Cup on Long Run and the Becher Chase at Aintree with Oscar Time in 2014, will go to a good cause.
He said: “I don’t get a share of the prize money as an amateur rider but I think a good chunk of it goes to the Amateur Jockeys Association, so they’ve probably had more days in the sun from each of Long Run, Oscar Time and Noble Yeats than they budgeted for!”
In a separate interview this morning on Sky Sports Racing, added: “To be honest we’re still waiting to wake up from it! We’re pinching ourselves and asking ourselves if it’s true, so it’s a bit of a fantasy and it doesn’t feel like it actually came off.
“Life keeps rolling and we took a kids out for a ride this morning to escape some of the interest and enjoy the sunshine and let it all sink in.
“I think from the moment I arrived on the course I felt swept along by the amount of goodwill and people being really generous about me, saying I was going to retire and saying well done and to enjoy everything – so it was a special day even before the race. People were so generous with their thoughts and their well wishes and that very much swept us along.”
On his brother’s death 18 years ago, Waley-Cohen said: “I was riding before Thomas died but suddenly when Liberthine won at Cheltenham in 2005 that was probably the first really good thing that happened since he had died and it really did bring us all together, so the racing was a bit of a totum to all gather and to have days at the races together with a joint interest.
“It’s something that we’ve enjoyed and sometimes commiserated around but always together whatever the outcome and that’s what’s been special about it.
“Dad had horses before I was riding and he rode. We’re breeding some horses at home now and we’ve got Liberthine here amongst others, so it’s an addiction that’s hard to get away from and it’s something that we can continue to enjoy together and we’ll carry on doing that.
“I don’t have an immediate replacement (for the thrill of race riding) but life is full on as an entrepreneur, sportsman and family man – it’s really intense so it’s quite nice to catch your breath for a second. I think when you want to live life and you look for interests in life they find you, so I don’t think I’ll be sitting there bored.”
Waley-Cohen was also happy not to have turned profressional during his 23-year career.
He said: “I have nothing but admiration for the professional jockeys – it’s an unbelievably tough life being on the road so much while also having the pressure and the injuries.
“Yes, there are successes but there’s an incredible hardness that they have to have and for me I wanted to do the sport for the love of it. I never wanted to win a race and think about the money.
“I wanted to be involved in racing for every bit of the experience, whether it was for a point to point where there’s no money to speak of or whether it was the Gold Cup – that was irrelevant to me.
“I think as soon as you go professional it inevitably becomes about earning a living and it’s about the money. You can’t escape from that to some extent and I thought that would change the sport for me. I was in a position where I had a business as an entrepreneur that I wanted to pursue and it allowed me to do both things.”
