Kicking King after his mistake at the last.

By

Not even Father Christmas could derail the unstoppable Kicking King as he provided the festive cheer with a splendid success in the Stan James King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day.

But the 3-1 favourite had to survive a horrendous last-fence blunder before claiming the prize.

Having approached the final obstacle with a 10-length advantage, Kicking King's fluent jumping fell apart at the worst possible time as he barely lifted a leg and pitched jockey Barry Geraghty right into the fence.

And after performing heroics to gather up the pieces and maintain some sort of momentum aboard the winner, Geraghty then had to avoid the antics of someone dressed in full Santa Claus regalia who calmly walked across the track only yards in front of him.

But despite the best efforts of Kingscliff, who stayed on all the way up the run-in to get within two and a half lengths of Kicking King, the race had already been won.

Azertyuiop, tackling three miles for the first time, ran a hugely creditable race to finish just a length and a quarter back in third, despite palpably failing to see out the distance.

That trio were a street ahead of fourth-home Le Roi Miguel, with well-fancied horses such as Lord Sam, Calling Brave and Tiutchev failing to fire on the day.

Kicking King had taken up the running from early leader First Gold heading out on the final circuit and injected a burst of acceleration which quickly put the majority of his rivals under pressure.

It was a performance - achieved in a fast time - which saw both the winner and runner-up harden considerably in the betting for the Totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Connections of Kicking King understandably shared a mixture of joy and relief.

"He got very tired going to the last," said Geraghty. "I went early, probably too early, and I should have waited longer.

"He missed a couple in the back straight, which I didn't really anticipate because he had jumped so well, and going down to the last he just emptied on me.

"I just grabbed hold of him. I was hanging on to his ears at one stage, but he was good. I gave him a smack and he went again - but then I nearly knocked down Santa Claus!

"The horse didn't see a couple of them down the far side until it was bit too late because of the low sun and he didn't jump as well as he did at Punchestown, but he is just a class horse."

Geraghty insisted that the presence of the intruder on the track had not hindered the progress of his mount in any way.

"We didn't see him until we were over the fence, but he didn't get that close to us," he explained.

He added: "Any horse can make a mistake and it certainly wouldn't put me off running him at Cheltenham. But we'll enjoy today first before we start to think about exactly which race we go for there."

This was a point seconded by Kicking King's trainer Tom Taaffe, whose family name is already etched into this race's history books both as jockey and trainer thanks to his father Pat.

"We won't decide about the Gold Cup until the first week in March," he said. "The plan was always for him to have a holiday now and that is what he will do.

"If it is good ground and Best Mate doesn't look unbeatable then we might just have a shot at it, but if isn't going to be right then we'll look forward to running in the Daily Telegraph Chase (over two and a half miles).

"Good ground is a huge plus for him and he didn't look all that happy today on ground that was a bit sticky. But he's only six, turning seven, so please God the only way is up.

"How he stood up at the last I don't know and how Barry stayed on I don't know, but he is a big strong horse, which helped him.

"There is no point in having a big race and having the crowd here without having any drama - they certainly got it there and we won't charge any extra for it!

"A lot of people maintained that he doesn't stay three miles but I never thought that was going to be a major concern.

"I remember something that dad said after Captain Christy won this race for the first time, that when they are out in front and swing for home the noise of the crowd can just catch them unawares, and I think that might have been what happened today more than his stamina giving out."

Taaffe also revealed that Kicking King's journey across the Irish Sea for the race had not gone entirely to plan.

"I'm not saying that it affected his performance as he seemed to eat up okay, but he did have a very rough crossing and looking at him before the race I thought he looked a bit weak behind the saddle," he said.

"That will come in time though, and that is the most important thing to remember - he has his whole future ahead of him."

Meanwhile, Father Christmas - or at least the man inside the costume - was in the custody of Surrey Police before a decision on whether to press charges.

Chief Inspector Tony Derreck commented: "It is sad that an individual could risk spoiling such a fantastic day out for so many people.

"It was by complete chance that no horse or jockey was very seriously injured.

"Throughout the year we work very hard with Kempton Park on security at the course and we will be jointly reviewing the situation in the aftermath of this meeting."