IN all sports, as some competitors are forced to the sidelines through injury, others get their chance to shine and so it was in the EI115 at Crecora last Sunday when Patrick Whelan came in for the winning ride on Sportsfield Lumiere whose owner, and usual partner, Paul Donovan, was suffering from a bad back.

Donovan’s seven-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding by Orestus completed on his winning dressage score (19.8 penalties) with the Robbie Collins-ridden Dunrath Navigator also finishing the day on his Liam Maloney-awarded flat-work mark of 27.3. Michael O’Toole withdrew Icco from the 10-runner class after the first two phases when he was on a mark of 24.4.