Sam Waley-Cohen won the Grand National onboard 50/1 outsider Noble Yeats at Aintree on Saturday and the retiring jockey has an interesting background which includes playing cupid for Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Waley-Cohen owns a £300million dental firm, Portman Dental Care, which has over 100 practices and he frequently mingles with royalty, especially at the race.
Reports claim he even helped William and Kate get back together when he threw a party at his Oxfordshire mansion.
Weeks later the pair went on holiday together to Seychelles and have been going strong ever since.
Waley-Cohen won the prestigious Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2011 and shortly afterwards addressed the rumour that he helped the future king rekindle his love for his queen.
“There’s an idea that I was like Cupid with a bow and arrow,” Waley-Cohen told the Mail 11 years ago.
“People love the idea that somebody put them back together but they put themselves together far more.
“They’ve both been friends for a long time.
“I think they got back together of their own accord.”
Waley-Cohen’s role in the matchmaking was rewarded when Kate attended his charity rollerskating event in 2008.
But Kate was accused by some of letting the monarchy down when she fell while skating around the area. Waley-Cohen came out fighting her corner.
He said: “The sniping really annoyed me.
“The whole event was done in really good humour with everyone out to have a good time and raise money for charity.
“And actually it just showed what a normal person Kate is. She was there to have fun, and she fell over.
“What’s the problem here?”
