Following Jonty Evans on Friday and Clare Abbott on Saturday leading the Irish challenge at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton four-star event, it was Joseph Murphy who finished best after today’s show jumping phase.

Murphy and Sportsfield Othello went clear this afternoon to continue their climb up the standings and finish on a score of 68.0 in thirteenth overall.

Abbott had been on the fringes of the top ten last night, and actually started this morning in 10th after the withdrawal at final inspection of Alexander Bragg’s Zagreb, but eight faults in show jumping with Euro Price placed her just behind Murphy on 68.10 in fourteenth.

After the outstanding start made by Evans and Cooley Rorkes Drift, which had them in third following dressage on Friday, yesterday’s 41.2 penalties after a cross-country run-out put them in an unrecoverable position, but the undaunted Evans finished with a zero for jumping and edged back up to claim 20th place.

New Zealand’s Andrew Nicholson and Nereo emerged victorious, climbing above Germany’s Michael Jung and La Biosthetique Sam who had a pole down today. Overnight leader Ingrid Klimke incurred 16 faults on Horseware Hale Bob Old and dropped to ninth, while Tim Price claimed third for New Zealand on Xavier Faer

This was the fourth event in the FEI Classics series, and Jung heads the overall rankings on 39 points with two events left – Luhmuhlen (15th-18th June) and Burghley (31st August-3rd September).

Ireland’s Camilla Spiers, who retired during yesterday’s cross-country with Portersize Just A Jiff, is 16th on 5 points after a fifth-place finish in the first event of the series at Pau last October.

BADMINTON FINAL STANDINGS
1. Nereo – Andrew Nicholson (NZL) 41.4
2. La Biosthetique Sam – Michael Jung (GER) 44.0
3. Xavier Faer – Tim Price (NZL) 49.2

IRISH PLACINGS
13. Sportsfield Othello – Joseph Murphy  68.0
14. Euro Prince – Clare Abbott 68.1
20. Cooley Rorkes Drift – Jonty Evans 78.4
26. Kilpatrick Knight – Austin O’Connor 95.0
32. Horseware Stellor Rebound – Sarah Ennis 100.8
33. Rioghan Rua – Cathal Daniels 103.6
36. November Knight – Ciaran Glynn 108.9
38. Dunlough Striker – Michael Ryan – 112.9
42. Ballycahane Flower Power – Dominic Funnell 137.8
45. Magennis – Jim Newsam 155.5
—- Portersize Just A Jiff – Camilla Spiers (ret. cc)

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