Long Run wins Gold Cup at Cheltenham Festival

CHELTENHAM, England (AP) - Long Run backed up his victory in the King George VI Chase by winning the Gold Cup on Friday with a late burst in the showpiece race of the Cheltenham Festival.

The 7-2 favorite, ridden by amateur jockey Sam Waley-Cohen, took the lead for the first time when jumping the second-to-last fence and pulled away from former winners Denman and Kauto Star.

Long Run became the first 6-year-old to win the prestigious race since Mill House in 1963.

Denman finished second, the 11-year-old maintaining his record of never having finished outside the top two in seven starts in Cheltenham.

Two-time winner Kauto Star, who lost his King George VI title in January, finished third.