King rules again with dramatic final kick
Laid low since injury saw him defeated at Haydock on his seasonal reappearance, Tom Taaffe slowly nursed the seven-year-old back to health and his patience and hard work was rewarded with success in the £200,000 (292,000) contest as
Kicking King still lacking something in fitness, according to Taaffe saw off his rivals with a typically polished round of jumping.
Barry Geraghty's mount swept into the lead after the second-last and stayed on gamely at odds of 11-8.
Monkerhostin ran a blinder and was catching the winner all the way up the run-in, while Impek kept on to finish a further five lengths away in third.
Ollie Magern had set a good early pace and remained in front until headed by Impek just after halfway.
However, Kicking King always had the principals well in sight and loomed large on the outside before taking the lead two from home.
The Conor Clarkson-owned winner had looked likely to go on for an easy success but all the while Tom
Scudamore a late deputy for the injured Richard Johnson was creeping away behind the leaders on Monkerhostin (22-1).
And when the young rider produced Philip Hobbs' charge on the outside over the final fence, suddenly the race was back on, and it took a photo-finish to confirm the Irish raider had held on by a neck to register his first victory since Punchestown in April.
Monkerhostin did at least have the consolation of taking the lead in the standings for the £250,000 (€365,000) British Horseracing Board Order of Merit standings.
But the race was a disaster for Kingscliff, who was sent off a well-backed second favourite having beaten Kicking King in the Betfair Chase last time out.
A bad mistake at the 10th fence with a circuit to go saw Tony Dobbin having to shake his mount right up to keep him in touch, and from that point he never got back in the race, eventually being pulled up on the home turn. William Hill offer a best price of 9-4 on Kicking King managing another back-to-back triumph, this time when going for the Totesport Gold Cup at Cheltenham in March (Coral just 5-4) and Taaffe had only words of encouragement for punters tempted to take that price.
"I know that some people didn't think I was being truthful when I gave excuses for what happened last time at Haydock," said the trainer.
"But it was only a few days after the race that I realised just how sore he had been and how low he was. He was very sorry and off his food.
"I've been a bit cheeky rushing him back from Haydock to get him ready for today and I'd hope he'd be a better horse again come March.
"When you run at Haydock on tacky ground over three miles you need to give him a rest afterwards.
"We just got him fresh. It took a good nine days before he came back with any spirit in him, to show any real well-being. He felt like any of us would if we had been running with two nails sticking into our foot.
"We waited until the last two bits of work to see if there was life there, and if there wasn't, we wouldn't have been here.
"I spoke to Conor and we both agreed if we weren't 100% happy, we wouldn't be coming here.
"The plan now is to batten down the hatches altogether until March. He definitely won't run again until then."
Geraghty hailed the winner as "a class act."
"They probably did not go that quick. I had hoped we'd be coming off a fast pace like in the Gold Cup and on good ground. That suits him better," he said.
"Monkerhostin did stay on well, but the ground is very dead. A better pace would have been ideal for me, but my horse can jump.
"He's won the Gold Cup once. I can't see why he can't win another one."
Scudamore, inches away from his biggest riding success, took defeat squarely on the chin.
He said: "Unfortunately we were just on the wrong side of the photo.
"He's run a great race, he was always travelling well and jumped fantastically and it was a very exciting spare to pick up.
"I was just hoping Kicking King and Impek would cut each other's throats and take the sting out of each other as I had them in my sights.
"I thought I would get Kicking King at one point, but every time I got to him he picked up again."
Hobbs said afterwards that a rematch with Kicking King in the Gold Cup could well now be on the cards.
"I wasn't totally sure about the trip today, but from the way he finished you'd have to say that he might want even further," he said.
Henrietta Knight was delighted with the performance of Impek.
She said: "There's nothing to say that he doesn't stay three miles, but I think his ideal trip is probably a little less.
"The Ryanair Chase might be the race for him at the Festival. He jumped so well almost too well and AP (Tony McCoy) had to let him go to the front probably sooner than was ideal."
Cashmans make him the clear favourite at 7-1 for the two-mile five-furlong contest in March.
Kingscliff's hopes of being the first winner of the Betfair Million went as his jumping let him down. "He was lobbing along beautifully, but when he put down at that early fence, it ruined the race for us," said Dobbin.
