EQUESTRIAN: Richard Davenport wiped the floor with the opposition to win the World Cup qualifier at Olympia yesterday afternoon, taking a 13-horse jump-off by the scruff of the neck to record the best victory of his career and give Team Sony Ericsson their biggest success of the week.
Until yesterday, 2004 hadn't been the Briton's favourite year, although it will certainly rank as one of the most memorable. Shortlisted for the Olympics, the 24-year-old then had his Athens hopes shattered when his top horse Luc suffered a leg injury .
But worse was to come, as Davenport then received a two-month ban after testing positive to a prohibited substance. The Cheshire rider was tested by UK Sport officials at the Sheffield International in April and his sample tested positive for phentermine, found in an appetite suppressant he had used while shedding three stone in weight at the beginning of the year.
With his top horse out of action for most of the year and himself sidelined for two months, Davenport plummeted down the Gandini rider rankings, riding into the Olympia arena yesterday a lowly 114th in the world. But the exalted company held no fears for Davenport and, first of 13 in against the clock, he set a target that left his rivals trailing.
Ireland's Billy Twomey wasn't included in the 13 as the Cork rider collected a disappointing eight faults in the first round. Sue Davies' mare Anastasia III started well, but a rail off the first part of the double was rapidly followed by the planks to keep Twomey out of the timed decider.
Despite the lack of an Irish contender - although Peter Charles was commentating on BBC1's Grandstand - the jump-off had a truly international flavour, with seven nations represented. The Germans had the strongest hand with four through, but there were also three British putting in their bids for a home win.
Quoted by the on-course bookmakers at 33/1, Davenport was tempted to put money on himself beforehand but decided it would be unlucky. But he earned himself a far bigger cheque by taking the racing line all the way round with the mare Laguina to stop the clock on 37.16 seconds and claim to the £20,000 winner's purse.
A succession of luminaries all failed to topple Davenport from pole position, most notably triple World Cup winner Rodrigo Pessoa. The Brazilian had flown to Spain after Friday's pre-qualifier hoping for a slice of the €200,000 prizefund in the La Coruna Grand Prix. The best he could muster was €2,000 for 10th place, but there was an even smaller return for his Olympia efforts as three fences down left him last of the 13 finalists.
Only two others went clear in the final round, with Switzerland's Christophe Barbeau claiming second with Chatwin ahead of Finnish pair Sebastian Numminen and Miss Speed.
