Irish eyes were smiling at Hickstead yesterday as Kevin Babington won the King George V Gold Cup on Carling King.

The competition is the most prestigious prize for male riders and acts as the finale to the Royal International Horse Show, which once again was a roaring success at the famous Sussex showground.

Babington, who originates from Southern Ireland but lives in Pennsylvania, won the title and £10,000 prize money as the only rider to jump two faultless rounds, finishing with a time of 58.13 in the jump-off.

Babington's two clear rounds were something his contemporaries could only dream about on a sticky surface caused by two days of rain.

Like all good riders, Babington hailed the performance of 12-year-old mare Carling King, who he rode earlier this year to help ensure a Samsung League victory for the Irish team at St Gallen and second place in Rome.

He said: "Because of the wet weather, I definitely thought about the risk to the horse but she came through it so well. She does not like the wet ground but she managed those extra inches to get over. She is a fine horse and I would be hard pressed to find another like her."

The closest challenger to Babington, who was in the Irish team which won the Nations Cup at Hickstead two years ago, was fellow countryman Peter Charles. He finished the first round unscathed with a time of 95.97sec.

However, the second round proved too much for his horse, Perishing, as she clipped the second to last fence to slip from what looked like being a winning position to fourth.

Surrey-based rider William Funnell, husband of Britain's leading three-day eventer Pippa, finished second after only recording four faults in the first round and then had a clear run in the second to finish with a time of 52.97sec and pick up a tidy £6,500 in prize money.

Funnell had sympathy for Charles who looked odds-on favourite going into the second round jump-off, which was contested for by the top six riders from the first round.

Funnell said: "Normally if you put one down you can make up the time over the rest of the course but Peter (Charles) hit his too late, so he couldn't make it up.

"It was a shame for him but, obviously, I am pleased to have finished where I did."

Another home rider, Andrew Davies, claimed third place on Limbo after picking up just four faults from the first round before running clean through in the second.

Ireland's Billy Twomey finished fifth with eight first round faults on Luidam before a clear second round. Brit Damian Charles was the last rider in the jump-off on Romulus with eight first round faults and four in the second round.

The only Sussex rider in the field was John Popley, from Bolney, who had to retire in the first round after his horse Touche went the wrong way at one point, downed a fence and missed the last jump.