How Sam Waley-Cohen was prepared to quit his job to pursue Grand National dream

Sam Waley-Cohen has revealed he was ready to quit his job to take what he thought would be his "one and only" shot to ride in the Grand National when fifth on Liberthine in 2007.

Waley-Cohen was speaking to the Racing Post for a major interview in Sunday's newspaper in the aftermath of his fairytale victory in this month's Grand National on Noble Yeats, the final ride of his career, and reflected on a career in which he also triumphed in the 2011 Gold Cup on Long Run.

Yet such high-profile successes had looked highly unlikely when Waley-Cohen was preparing for his first Grand National ride on Liberthine, his breakthrough horse who won the Mildmay of Flete at the Cheltenham Festival in 2005 and the Topham Trophy over the National fences the following year.

"Soon after I joined [the agricultural merchants] Louis Dreyfus in London the company relocated to Geneva," he recalled. "I went along, thinking I could make it work by flying home to ride on weekends. I tried to find somebody to ride out for in Switzerland but it wasn't happening.

Sam Waley-Cohen celebrates on Noble Yeats after winning the Grand NationalCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

"I told the firm that riding in the Grand National was my dream, we'd got Liberthine for the race and it was probably the one and only shot I'd ever have, so I was leaving the job and moving back to London. And they said I should go to London, do the race and rejoin the firm after that."

Liberthine's return to Aintree had been equally complicated. The mare had been retired and was bred to a stallion but returned to training only when she had lost her foal in utero. Both horse and jockey made the most of the opportunity, with Liberthine gallantly carrying Waley-Cohen to fifth place behind Silver Birch.

"Finishing fifth was a big deal," said Waley-Cohen, "especially as we had two bus-loads of friends who came up to watch. We stayed in a big hotel which had a massive nightclub. It was a proper scene, and I thought that would be my one and only Grand National ride. I'd already come to terms with the fact my father didn't train any other horses at Liberthine's level."

Read more from Sam Waley-Cohen in The Big Read, available in Sunday's newspaper or online for Members' Club Ultimate subscribers from 6pm on Saturday. Click here to sign up

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