Haydock report: A dislodged near-hind shoe may have been responsible for the defeat of reigning champion steeplechaser Kicking King in the Betfair Chase at Haydock on Saturday. Connections of the Tom Taaffe-trained seven-year-old were initially left scratching their heads after seeing the 4 to 5 favourite finish well held in third behind Kingscliff and Beef or Salmon.
Jockey Barry Geraghty had pushed Kicking King into contention around the final turn only for his mount to falter and fade close home, having made a mistake at the second-last fence.
Geraghty's initial reaction was to suggest to Taaffe that last year's Totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup hero had simply "run flat" from the home turn.
Taaffe, mindful that some of his horses have appeared to be under a cloud, said he would like to take more time before attributing his charge's defeat to anything in particular.
But subsequent examination at the stables revealed the horse's near-hind shoe had become partially dislodged causing a protruding nail to pierce into a soft part of the foot. "He is very sore now and you don't have to be Einstein to work out that it didn't help," said the trainer.
Kay Hourigan, daughter of Beef Or Salmon's trainer Michael, was delighted with his performance and thought he may well have gone closer with the benefit of a previous outing.
She said: "That was brilliant and we'll see where we'll go next with him. I think he'll go to either Sandown or Leopardstown over Christmas."
Winner Kingscliff was given a clean bill of health after his heroics in the race after a textbook display of jumping.
Irish raider Garvivonnian provided a 33 to 1 upset when lifting the totesport Becher Chase in a thrilling finish at Aintree yesterday. Garrett Cotter had the Edward Mitchell-trained runner prominent throughout before taking the lead over eight fences from home. Just In Debt collared Garvivonnian at the last but with several still in with a chance, he forced his way to the front again on the run-in and was all out for a three-quarter length success over Le Duc.
