EQUESTRIAN: Pippa Funnell, who leads the British squad that will be aiming for gold at the World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain, in 10 days time, tops the field at the Burghley horse trials with her Punchestown runner-up Primmore's Pride.
Funnell, who won at Badminton in the spring with her double European champion Supreme Rock, has never won at Burghley, but says that she "certainly won't be schooling" when she tackles Wolfgang Feld's massive 32-fence track this afternoon.
Andrew Hoy, who won on his Burghley debut 23 years ago with Davey, has now been demoted to second, having lead after the first day of dressage with Mr Pracatan. Both Hoy's ride and Primmore's Pride have never competed at four-star level before, but they are followed in the line-up by Mary King and King Solomon III, the pair that slotted into fourth place last year only to have to pull out at Badminton when the horse developed an irregular heartbeat after the steeplechase.
Andrew Nicholson, winner here last year with Mr Smiffy, is fourth on New York, but it is expected that there will be a considerable reshuffling of the placings before the close of play today. The riders are considerably in awe of Feld's track, which has broken the mould of all previous Burghley cross-country tests and is substantially larger than the challenge usually expected in a world championship year.
First out to test the water will be Virginia McGrath and The Yellow Earl, which was overlooked by the Irish selectors for next month's World Games. The pair have good four-star form and will be hoping for a solid clear that will not only ease the nerves for the rest of the field, but also provide a form guide for the remaining Irish quartet still waiting in the wings.
However, McGrath and the veteran chestnut have quite a lot of ground to make up if they are to make an impact on the leaders, as their mark of 73.20 has left them down in the bottom quarter of the field in 76th.
Austin O'Connor, who was the only Irish rider performing in the dressage arena yesterday, also has a point to prove to the selectors, having been left off the Jerez squad with Tom MacGuinness' Sydney Olympic horse Horseware Fabio. Still not confirmed in his flying changes, Fabio's mark of 68.40 nevertheless puts him best of the Irish in 62nd.
Compatriots Mark Kyle (Drunken Disorderly) and Eric Smiley (Benjamin Phipps) are not far adrift in 65th and 66th, while Hilda Hick-Donahue, who made her four-star debut at Kentucky this spring, is in 70th with Ashmore's Scribble.
BURGHLEY HORSE TRIALS (placings after dressage) - 1, Britain's Primmore's Pride (Pippa Funnell), 43.01 penalties; 2, Australia's Mr Pracatan (Andrew Hoy), 44.81; 3, Britain's King Solomon III (Mary King), 46.40; 4, New Zealand's New York (Andrew Nicholson), 47.60; 5, Britain's Word For Word (Polly Stockton), 48.80; 6, Australia's Kibah Sandstone (Matt Ryan), 49.01; Irish placings: 62, Horseware Fabio (Austin O'Connor), 68.40; 65, Drunken Disorderly (Mark Kyle), 69.80; 70, Ashmore's Scribble (Hilda Hick-Donahue), 71.81; 76, The Yellow Earl (Virginia McGrath), 73.20.
Gijon, Prix Llagar Cortina - 1, France's Lotus XV (Patrice Delaveau), 0 faults, 69.44 seconds; 2, Ireland's Carraig Dubh (Lt David O'Brien), 0, 70.24; 3, Spain's FAN Gismo (Ricardo Jurado), 0, 72.54.
