“I CAN’T wait to do a five-star on him – it cannot come fast enough,” said Clare Abbott of her winning ride Jewelent. “I just absolutely love him – you just point and shoot and it’s almost as though he’s already read the cross-country manual.”

Indeed, those who witnessed the fluent ease that the grey ate up the Kilguilkey ground, would agree with Abbott, who headed the sole four-star class from the front. The only entrant among 10 starters to record a sub-30 dressage mark (27.7), the pair did lower a coloured rail but still maintained the advantage over second-placed Steven Smith (HHF Elegance).