No horse as young as six has captured chasing's blue riband since the great Mill House in 1963, but the Nicky Henderson-trained French import could now try to emulate him. To be fair, only three six-year-olds have contested the race in the last 40 years, of which The Fellow was only inched out of the 1991 renewal by a short-head and Gloria Victis looked set for a place until suffering a fatal fall in 2000. Both were earlier-maturing French-breds like Long Run.
The Ryanair Chase had been mooted as an alternative at the Festival for Long Run, but owner Robert Waley-Cohen admits the Gold Cup has to be on the cards after he summarily dismissed his rivals that included four-time King George hero Kauto Star.
"I would think we would find it hard to resist going for the Gold Cup. He probably won't run again before then," said Waley-Cohen.
"We probably lost a race in between because of the three-week delay otherwise he might have gone for the Aon Chase. He'd been kept on the buzz a long time and Nicky was saying on Saturday night he might calm him down for a couple of weeks and go straight to Cheltenham.
"I think he'll stay. He didn't seem to be running out of stamina yesterday. You need plenty of stamina to win that race because they go pretty quick and there's no time for a breather. There's no mercy out there."
Long Run's only two defeats in this country have come at Cheltenham but the owner believes there were valid excuses both times.
"He hasn't quite lived up to expectations in two runs. It was right at the end of the season in the RSA Chase when he finished third after he'd been running in serious Grade One races since the previous May," Waley-Cohen added.
"In the Paddy Power, he was third carrying a big weight and, in fairness, Nicky's horses weren't winning at that time."
Meanwhile, Paul Nicholls is relishing the challenge of preparing Kauto Star for the Gold Cup.
A mistake at the second-last fence finally put paid to his chance to win the William Hill King George VI for a fifth time and Tony McCoy, replacing the injured Ruby Walsh, did well to keep the partnership intact. But it was an overall performance that has led to a view in some quarters that Kauto Star's best days are behind him.
Connections remain undaunted, however, and trainer Paul Nicholls will now prepare Kauto Star for a fifth successive tilt at the Gold Cup, which he won in 2007 and 2009.
The champion trainer said: "I have just spoken to Clive (Smith). We agreed that yesterday now gives us a bit of challenge with the horse - and hopefully we, and most importantly, the horse will rise to it.
"He will be prepared for a tilt at a third Gold Cup victory in March - different ground, different track, different day - and we would like to aim him for a third victory at Down Royal in the autumn, too. As long as he is enjoying his racing and running well, then he will continue - he is 11, not 13.
"Yesterday, was undoubtedly a big disappointment. He was never travelling or jumping with any real fluency, but it wasn't as if he ran a poor race. Without his blunder at the second last, he probably would have been a fair second to a very good horse. But that clearly wasn't his best form.
"I am not making excuses but I can reveal that when he got back last night and stuck his head in the water bucket, he bled from both nostrils. He has never done it before, and will probably never do it again.
"It wasn't a big bleed but it indicates that he probably bled during the race (possibly after his mistake at the second last, which meant he had to dig deep to get home), which would not have aided his cause."
Owner Clive Smith certainly disagrees with the view that age may have caught up with Kauto Star, and is looking forward to the top-class chaser making his annual appearance in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
"We think he's OK and don't think age has caught up with him," said Smith.
"He didn't quite get to his fences in his usual way. I'm not criticising Tony McCoy, he's a wonderful chap and a great jockey, but he's got a different style to Ruby Walsh and maybe that showed.
"It was his first ride on him. It's very hard to get on a horse like Kauto and ride to suit him. I thought Tony did very well and we also think the horse may have had an off day.
"He didn't come out of his box so early on Saturday morning, according to his lad Nick Child - he's normally on his toes and running around his box a bit.
"He was a bit more docile, but in the paddock he looked fine and looked very good as though he was going to enjoy himself, so I might not be right there. I think he's still got a good chance in the Gold Cup."
John McCririck believes Long Run's victory in the King George has signalled the dawn of a new generation. However, the Channel 4 Racing pundit believes it could be folly to dismiss Kauto Star in the Cheltenham Gold Cup on the back of just one poor run, especially with his trainer Paul Nicholls not quite firing on all cylinders in January.
"I think the torch has been passed to a new generation. It does look like that," said McCririck.
"The only thing you might be able to say is that Paul Nicholls is out of form and looking back that could well be a factor. January isn't his month. It wasn't the Kauto Star we knew.
"It looks like the torch has been passed and all credit to Sam Waley-Cohen (jockey) taking on the very big boys and showing no signs of nerves. The horse jumped beautifully. He loves Kempton, having won the Feltham.
"Unless it was an off-day for Kauto, it could be a generation thing and it points to Denman as well, whether he'll be able to hack it in the top class as well. That's the fascination of racing.
"It was sad to see. The crowd came and you could feel it was a bit of a letdown, an anti-climax, though it was a magnificent day for the punters and a great day of entertainment with a nine-race card.
"You wouldn't rule Kauto Star out of the Gold Cup yet though on the back of one disappointing run. There was that mistake and I don't know how McCoy stayed on at the second last.
"I wouldn't back Long Run at Cheltenham, but he was hugely impressive yesterday. If Kauto Star had won like that we'd be saying he's the Gold Cup favourite and all's well.
"Long Run has shown weaknesses before and this was by far his best run. When you think Timeform had him about 26lb behind, it shows how much he has improved or how disappointing Kauto Star was.
"Riverside Theatre puts the race into perspective. It wasn't one of the great King George's if you rule out the failure of Kauto Star."
Kauto Star can now be backed at best-price 12/1 (Stan James and William Hill) for the Gold Cup, whilst Long Run can be backed at best-price 7/1 (Stan James).
Kauto Star, right, finished a well-beaten third behind Long Run in the King George VI Chase at Kempton, sponsored by William Hill
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