Show Jumping World Cup finals: Jessica Kürten inched closer to show jumping's holy grail with a third-place finish in last night's second leg and has now moved up to third overall in the World Cup standings at the Kuala Lumpur finals, just a single point off joint leaders Marcus Ehning of Germany and Switzerland's Beat Mandli. Grania Willis reports from Kuala Lumpur
The world number two was thrilled with Castle Forbes Libertina, one of six horses to go clear and through to the jump-off before producing another foot-perfect round against the clock. "She was just outstanding today," Kürten said of the 10-year-old mare. "She was a joy to ride, just push-button."
Kürten's fourth place in Thursday night's opening leg had given rise to high expectations among the 36-year-old's legion of fans and they had even more reason to cheer last night as the Co Antrim rider conjured up another sensational performance from the mare that has, until now, been an understudy to star-turn Quibell.
Frank Rothenberger's demanding 13-fence track proved a bridge too far for the majority of the 32-horse field, with only one of the first 20 starters leaving everything intact, but then five of the final 12 found the key, leaving six to do battle against the clock.
Frenchman Philippe Leoni was first in to set the pace with Cyrenaika in 40.50 seconds, but that target was immediately annihilated by Sweden's Rolf-Goran Bengtsson. With the 12-year-old MacKinley at racing pace throughout, Bengtsson stopped the clock on the impossibly fast time of 34.17 and word sped back to the warm-up arena.
Heinrich Hermann Engemann, first of the German pair, faulted at the double to go out of the reckoning and with defending champion Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum sitting it out after a fence down in the first round, Kürten was the only female still in contention.
Libertina gave everything she had, but the clock ticked on for another three-quarters of a second before stopping on 34.92. It was good enough to put Kürten second, but it was only temporary.
Just as he had 24 hours earlier, Mandli galloped into the ring next and edged the Irish challenger out. The Swiss rider, also on a relatively inexperienced 10-year-old, had a couple of anxious moments and was up on the clock coming into the last. But he took a pull and it cost him the class, with 34.54 registering on the timing display for second.
Those still weren't the definitive placings. Not with world number one and overnight leader Ehning waiting in the wings. But the precociously talented stallion Sandro Boy wastes time in the air as he explodes over his fences and the German's time of 35.21 wasn't fast enough to trouble the leaders, with Bengtsson claiming the €35,000 winner's purse ahead of Mandli and Kürten.
Second on the opening night, Mandli has moved up to share the lead with Ehning, but Kurten is a mere one point adrift - and €20,000 richer - as she goes forward to tomorrow's two-round finale with every chance of moving up to claim the ultimate prize.
So did Kurten ever, in her wildest dreams, think she would be within striking distance of the World Cup after the first two rounds?
"In my wildest dreams a hell of a lot of things have come true in the last few months," she said last night.
One person missing from the Kürten entourage is owner Lady Georgina Forbes.
Like her top horse Quibell, Lady Georgina isn't keen on flying, but she missed Thursday's World Cup action as she was on a tractor harrowing the indoor arena when it was being broadcast. But she sat and watched it all yesterday from the comfort of her home, Castle Forbes in Co Longford, and will certainly be glued to the television for tomorrow afternoon's final transmission. She won't be the only one on the edge of her seat.
