Price takes command

The crowd favourites delivered an almost foot-perfect performance to earn a mark of 23.1.

“We know he’s a class dressage horse and that he’s got all the ingredients for a hot test, and from my point of view his rideability was superb today and his relaxation was lovely,” said Tim of Joe and Alex Giannamore’s elegant 15-year-old.

Tim, who last won here in 2018 but has come tantalisingly close since — he was runner-up last year — has made no secret of the fact that he is back at Burghley meaning business.

“I am here to win, and I have worked hard to try and get into a position to win,” he said, adding of tomorrow’s cross-country challenge: “You’re going to need to get in a good rhythm from the start and maintain it up the hills, down the hills, across the hills and home. I’m looking forward to finishing relatively early in the draw and sitting down and watching the rest.”

Yesterday’s leaders Piggy March (GBR) and MCS Maverick have slipped to second, while Alexander Bragg (GBR) and Ardeo Premier currently lie third.

This morning’s session produced a flurry of sub-30 scores, including one for Tom Crisp (GBR) and Dassett Rock Star, who slotted into fourth.

Nobody was more surprised to see a mark of 28.4 flash up than Tom himself.

“We’re very rarely at this end of the leaderboard after dressage and it feels a bit strange,” smiled the part-time firefighter, who tends to be more associated with stylish and effective riding across country than delivering high-scoring performances between the white boards. “I knew we could do it, I just tried to go in there and be a bit more confident. It only takes one missed change or a bad halt to drag your mark down, but we didn’t make any mistakes and he stayed with me all the way through.”

Max Warburton (GBR) and Deerparc Revelry also broke into the top 10, delivering a score of 29.1 which sees them currently in sixth. First-timer Katie Magee (GBR) and Treworra wowed on their Burghley debut and their polished test saw them slot into seventh on a score of 29.3, just ahead of two-time Olympic team gold medallist Laura Collett (BBR) and Bling, ninth on 30.2.

The final session of dressage begins at 2pm when Jesse Campbell (NZL) and Cooley Lafitte will perform their test.