Kingscliff had also been well-fancied for this year's Gold Cup

Sponsors Betfair will pay out the bonus if the gelding can go on to take the King George and Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Robert Walford and the Robert Alner-trained Kingscliff jumped impeccably to outstay Beef or Salmon by 1 1/4L.

Kicking King looked a danger two fences out but faded in the closing stages to

finish third, 1/4L further back.

Connections of the Tom Taaffe-trained seven-year-old were initially left scratching their heads over the 4-5 favourite's lacklustre performance.

He is very sore now and you don't have to be Einstein to work out that it didn't help Kicking King's trainer Tom Taafe

And jockey Barry Geraghty's first reaction was to suggest that last year's Gold Cup hero had simply 'run flat' from the home turn.

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 his foot.

"He is very sore now and you don't have to be Einstein to work out that it didn't help," said Taafe.

Speaking immediately after the race, Taaffe took the shock defeat squarely on the chin.

BETFAIR CHASE RESULTS 1. Kingscliff (R Walford) 8-1 2. Beef Or Salmon (P Carberry) 8-1 3. Kicking King (B J Geraghty) 4-5 fav

"I am not going to run for cover," he said. "He was fit enough and well enough to put up a very good performance.

"But he is just a horse, not a machine, and that is racing. It is why people keep coming because you never know what is going to happen.

"If he comes back to his best then the King George and the Gold Cup would still be the targets.

"It is the end of the Betfair Million for us but it is not the end of the world."

Meanwhile, rising star Olllie Magern was considered the biggest threat to Kicking King's Haydock hopes after he dominated the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby three weeks ago.

But after leading the early stages in Saturday's race, the seven-year-old ran out of gas and limped home last.

Kingscliff was the ante-post favourite going into this year's Gold Cup.

Kingscliff ruled out of Gold Cup

But the eight-year-old was withdrawn at the last minute for the second year running after looking out-of-sorts in a pre-race workout.

His impressive performance at Haydock saw his odds for next year's Cheltenham challenge swiftly cut to 5-1 by VC Bet.

However, Kicking King remains the 3-1 favourite to repeat his 2005 Cup triumph in March and Alner was quick to play down Kingscliff's chances of sealing the lucrative treble.

"Last year we were too focused on the Gold Cup and we didn't get there, was a big disappointment," he said.

"This year we decided to go race by race with him and to run him whenever the horse is right.

"Robert rode him fantastically - nobody could have done a better job. It is all about jumping and he was foot perfect.

"But it is going to be very hard to keep him in good form for six months and I think winning the �1m bonus is going to be almost impossible.

"But you have got to be in it to win it and now we are the only ones who can win it, we will be giving it our very best shot."