Racing: Kingscliff leads the kicking of the King

Betfair Gold Cup: A great day for the bookmakers as the 4-5 Irish favourite fails to make the grade

Irish punters must be tearing their betting slips up and their hair out. After seeing their equine representatives walk off with most of jump-racing's biggest prizes last season, they have had to watch the Republic's two biggest champions being shot down in flames in the space of a week.

At least Moscow Flyer was beaten by compatriot Central House at Navan last Sunday, whereas Kicking King went down to defeat at the hands of the home team at Haydock yesterday. The Gold Cup hero was one of seven class contenders bidding to land the three-mile Betfair Chase, the first leg of a £1m gamble, but it was Kingscliff, the huge stamina horse from the West Country, who made the best of the tacky ground to lollop home a length and a quarter clear of the other Irish raider, Beef Or Salmon.

Last seen staying on a length and a quarter behind Ollie Magern in the Charlie Hall Chase, Robert Alner's lightly raced eight-year-old was previously best-known for a pair of Cheltenham victories in 2003 and a fast-finishing second to Kicking King in last year's King George VI, which propelled him to Gold Cup favouritism after the withdrawal of Best Mate. But the lanky gelding was pulled out of the Prestbury Park showdown at the last minute for the second year running, returning at Punchestown in April only to trail in a disappointing fourth behind the newly crowned Cheltenham champion.

So yesterday was payback time. Always travelling easily and jumping fluently, Robert Walford's mount tracked the Charlie Hall victor as the seven-year-old once again set off at a cracking pace. However, the sticky ground blighted Nigel Twiston-Davies's hopes of seeing his front-running charge follow up his Wetherby win, and Keen Leader took up the running as Ollie Magern faded early.

All the while, Barry Geraghty was stalking the leaders on the 4-5 favourite Kicking King and looked perfectly placed to push for home when coming upsides with Kingscliff and Keen Leader three out. But a mistake at the second last showed the champion was weakening, and the run-in saw him with nothing left in the tank, leaving Kingscliff, an 8-1 shot, to pull clear and Beef Or Salmon to sneak into second after finding another gear.

"He jumped, stayed and out- galloped them, basically, and I am delighted," said Walford. "It was hard work but stamina is his forte and the ground helped."

Back in the Kicking King camp, neither Geraghty nor trainer Tom Taaffe could offer any excuse for their surprise defeat. "He was fit enough and well enough to put up a very good performance, but he is just a horse, not a machine," said Taaffe. "If he comes back to his best then he is a better horse than he has shown today and the King George and the Gold Cup would still be the targets."

Geraghty added: "He jumped brilliantly but cut out when push came to shove. There was nothing obviously wrong. You couldn't blame the ground or anything and it is disappointing."

Kingscliff is now as short as 7-2 with some bookmakers for the Blue Riband, but his trainer is less confident of his ability to last the season and pick up the £1m on offer to the winner of yesterday's chase, the King George VI and the Gold Cup. "It is going to be very hard to keep him in good form for six months and I think winning the £1m is going to be almost impossible," said Alner. "But now we are the only ones who can win it, we will be giving it our very best shot."

With both these royal contenders now headed for the King George, and with the uphill finish at Sandown potentially favouring Kingscliff's staying talents, Boxing Day this year could offer the best Christmas treat of all for racing fans.

BETS OF THE DAY

Serious bet
Inch Pride (Aintree, 2.15) disappointed on her soggy seasonal return but the drying ground could see her back to her winning best.

Fun bet
If you lost your shirt on Kicking King yesterday, Almost Broke (Aintree, 1.40) could be just the ticket.