EQUESTRIAN SPORT: Peter Charles got his French campaign at Vichy off to a good start yesterday with victory in the accumulator class. The former European champion scored a maximum 65 points with Rockstar, clocking 60 seconds dead to win by three seconds from Britain's South African-born David McPherson, reports Grania Willis.

Dermott Lennon, who has less than two months left of his four-year reign as world champion, slotted Ma Mie Courcelle into third in the following young-horse speed class, which was won by Germany's Sebastian Hass.

And, on the team front, Ireland finished equal third in the Swedish Nations Cup in Falsterbo yesterday afternoon.