Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo reign supreme at Defender Burghley

At the end of a thrilling day’s sport, Ros and Archie and Michele Saul’s “Walter”, Olympic team gold medallists and European champions, go into tomorrow's finale with a slender lead of 3.5 penalties — they cannot afford a showjumping rail down — over second-placed New Zealander Tim Price on Vitali.

Harry Meade (GBR) was the hero of the day, achieving three clear cross-country rounds. He is in third place on Annaghmore Valoner and fifth on Cavalier Crystal, his two mares both coming home inside the optimum time. He also produced an assured pathfinding round on Superstition, 15th.

Gaspard Maksud, riding another mare, Zaragoza, is fourth and best of a strong French contingent. The dual European champion Nicolas Touzaint, for whom this was, surprisingly, a first visit to Defender Burghley, is ninth on Absolut Gold HDC.

British riders Gemma Stevens (Chilli Knight), Tom Jackson (Capels Hollow Drift) and Alexander Bragg (Quindiva) are in sixth, eighth and 10th places respectively and first-timer Monica Spencer from New Zealand is seventh on Artist.

Ros Canter was quick to acknowledge her star horse.

“It’s the first time I’ve achieved a competitive time here at Defender Burghley,” she said. “You couldn’t fault Lordships Graffalo. He is an amazing athlete. It’s as if he has walked the course, the way he reads it so quickly.”

Tim Price was happy with the way Vitali finished, with just a handful of time-penalties: “He’s a great athletic jumping horse. We’ve had six months to recover from our disappointment at Badminton [when they lost their lead with showjumps down] and I feel he has mentally improved.”

Riders were respectful of Derek di Grazia's superbly presented and well-judged cross-country course which achieved an ideal result: 32 clears from the 65 starters.

“I’m very happy with how it went,” said Derek. “There was a lot of talk about the size of the triple brushes at the Holland Cooper Leaf Pit, but you hope the first horse will go out and make it look good and Harry Meade did that. Everyone finished safely and it was a great day for the sport.”

“It was a brilliant track, a proper, proper three-day event course,” was Harry's verdict. “I had a lovely ride on my first horse, Superstition, a magic ride on the second [Cavalier Crystal] and I took a bit of a risk on the third [Annaghmore Valoner). She is a sensitive mare and I tried to give her a careful ride, but at speed.”

“Harry's feat of getting two horses around inside the time at Defender Burghley is incredible,” confirmed Diarmuid Byrne of the Irish statistics company, EquiRatings. “It’s only been achieved a handful of times in history and only once before by a British rider [Mary King in 2010].”

Diarmuid added that eight out of the last 10 cross-country leaders have held on to win Defender Burghley.

There were, as ever, form upsets. Ros Canter retired her dressage leader, Izilot DHI, after a run-out at fence 5, Defender Valley. Emily King, lying fourth on Valmy Biats, and Caroline Powell, eighth on her Badminton winner Greenacres Special Cavalier, both retired after run-outs and Oliver Townend, equal fifth on Cooley Rosalent, was eliminated for a fall at the second part of the Rolex Corners (fence 16).

Tomorrow's showjumping finale at Defender Burghley promises to be a classic. First, however, horses have to pass the Final Horse Inspection, which starts at 9am.

Every minute of the action from Defender Burghley is shown live on Burghley TV: visit www.burghley-horse.co.uk/burghley-tv.