Phillips rises to the Bramham challenge but looks over her shoulder for Fox-Pitt
Phillips enters the second day sat in second place in the headline CCI three-star competition after impressing the judges with her dressage display on Lord Lauries.
While Phillips expects to be knocked down the pecking order after today’s dressage conclusion, the 32-year-old is revelling in the competition.
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Hide AdThe Queen’s granddaughter won her first three-day event at Bramham when scooping the CCI under-25s three-star event in 2002 on Toytown and feels the Yorkshire assignment provides a proper test of an eventer’s merits.
But there seems no doubting that Phillips is a genuine first-place contender ahead of an eagerly-awaited final three days that will conclude on Sunday with the showjumping test which follows tomorrow’s cross-country.
“There’s a long way to go and it’s not going to be just a dressage test,” Phillips exclusively told the Yorkshire Post after yesterday’s dressage.
“There’s a lot to do on the cross-country and it’s a big track, but that’s why we come here – for a good test.
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Hide Ad“People are up for it and if we can get through the cross-country then we will look to the final day.
“But we’ll take it bit by bit – we’ll see what my other horse does (today) and we’ll go from there.
“William Fox-Pitt is here on the horse he won on last year and I am sure he will be top of the leaderboard (by the end of today).”
Early starter Phillips topped the leaderboard herself throughout much of the opening day until young Frenchman Maxime Livio narrowly overhauled her nearing tea-time with his score on Cathar De Gamel.
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Hide AdDefending champion Fox-Pitt is currently third, but on his likely second string and new ride Running Order.
Last year’s winner Chilli Morning – a horse renowned for a strong dressage test – will be expected to top the lot when he struts his stuff at 2.48pm today.
Phillips also has one more dressage test to come – on youngster Black Tuxedo (2.56pm) – while Northallerton’s Nicola Wilson will look to make inroads on her second mount Annie Clover (2.16pm).
Wilson currently lies 16th after yesterday’s test on Beltane Queen and the Northallerton rider is alone in flying the flag for Yorkshire in the CCI competition with Huddersfield’s Oliver Townend having withdrawn both of his entries.
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Hide AdYork’s Jolyse Clancey is doing her bit for the county in the CIC test. She and her promising mount On Stage II stood 22nd after day one of dressage.
That competition is led by England’s Janine Jansen who is making the most of her long trip from her Devon base on board Velocity II.
Jansen and Velocity lead German youngster Franca Luedeke on Parlando 23 and English-based Australian Kevin McNab on Clifton Pinot.
As far as that event is concerned, all eyes today will be on New Zealand’s world No 3 Jonathan Paget who sends out Shady Grey at 9.04am and Fox-Pitt who partners Before Time at 9.28am.
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Hide AdThe Bishop Burton College Under-25s CCI three-star also gets underway today with its dressage test at 11.30am.
However, for now at least, it is Phillips who has got most of the sun-drenched crowd going with the royal ace delighted to be in contention with three days to go.
“I didn’t think I would still be up there after leading so early, but Lord Lauries did everything well – he can get a bit tight in the neck but he did everything else,” she said.
“I was top pretty early on so I was quite surprised to be still nearly there at the end of the day.
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Hide Ad“This is a great event and I am pretty happy with how the first day went.”
Leading standings and penalty scores:
CCI three-star: 1, M Livio, FRA (Cathar De Gamel) 44.4; 2, Z Phillips, GBR (Lord Lauries) 45.6; 3, W Fox-Pitt GBR (Running Order) 49.6; 4, G Tattersall GBR (Arctic Soul) 51.0; 5, V Panizzon ITA (Merlots Magic) 51.0.
CIC three-star: J Jansen, GBR (Velocity II) 43.4; 2, F Luedeke, GER (Parlando 23) 43.6; 3, K McNab AUS (Clifton Pinot) 46.0; 4, C Lyrad, FRA (Cadeau Du Roi) 47.0; 5, E Chandler, GBR (Tullibards Showtime) 47.2.