GIVING a shout of delight as he crossed the finish line, Italian international rider Giovanni Ugolotti landed a popular and close fought victory in the feature Nutriscience CCI4*L.

Riding the elegant mare Swirly Temptress, the Gloucestershire-based rider had held the advantage from the get go, but with less than a fence separating the top three there was no margin for error. In second spot, Kazuma Tomoto (Brookpark Vikenti) piled on the pressure with a foot-perfect round but keeping his nerve Ugolotti was equally immaculate.

“This was her first long format four-star,” said the rider afterwards. “We came here really for the qualification, so to win is fantastic. She gave me a super ride everywhere, and while the course was not over big it was beautifully built and technical.”

The mare, who is owned and bred by Karin and Kristina Rausing, is dressage bred and has been produced by Ugolotti throughout her career. “She was sent to me to break in and never left,” he said.

“She went Le Lion d’Angers as a seven-year-old, and won the CCI2*S here the same year.” The rider, who is married to Canadian rider Kathryn Robinson, also explained that although the daughter of For Ladies Only is now eligible for the World Championships later in the year, she is only a 10-year-old, and is unlikely to be put forward for contention.

One who has World Championships most definitely in his sights and now with his qualification in the bag, was the Japan Racing Association representative Kazuma Tomoto. Chasing the winner throughout and completing just a mark adrift, Tomoto piloted the Irish-bred Brookpark Vikenti into second spot.

“I thought there were plenty of questions out on track,” said the rider. “The ground was really good, and was well prepared.” The Olympian, who was placed fourth in Tokyo and has been based with William Fox-Pitt for a number of years, took the ride on the former Michael Ryan charge seven years ago.

He has gelled well with the son of Master Imp, who he described as “a bit cheeky, but a good one”. He went on to confirm his liking of Irish-bred horses, saying: “I like them because they are really tough, they have good minds and always try to help you.”

Among the duo’s supporters at ringside were breeders Zoe Kingston and family, who were renewing their acquaintance with the traditionally bred 14-year-old, who is out of Tullineasky Butler’s Simon (Rhett Butler).

The drop of a coloured rail denied Ugolotti third place with his second ride Duke of Champions so, slipping to fourth he reversed placings with New Zealander Caroline Powell aboard the clean jumping Greenacres Special Cavalier. Another born in Ireland and a debutante at the level, the Michael Callery-bred nine-year-old is by Cavalier Royale out of Greenacres Touch by Touchdown.

Daniels best of the Irish

The best of the two Irish runners was Cathal Daniels who piloted Jo Breheny’s LEB Lias Jewel into seventh spot. The pair were midway after dressage on a score of 34.1, and while they gained ground after a super spin in the country, they slipped again in the final phase. The duo were clear until the final combination, where an unlucky tip of the middle element demoted to them to seventh. Luhmühlen has been pencilled in as the next aim for the pair, with World Championships a possiblilty later in the year.

Opening on Thursday, 15 starters came under the scrutiny of Ground Jury of Ger Kuest (GER), Faith Ponsonby (IRL) and John Lyttle (IRL). The marks were closely packed at this stage, and while the top end of the leaderboard remained unaltered after cross-country, three runners failed to complete. The Irish combination of Emily Corbett and Leapfrog unfortunately dropped out early when tipping up at the tables (2) while the only other faller, British rider Tim Cheffings parted company with Gaston at the tricky Nutriscience Into The Woods complex (14) at the far end of the track. Riding for Japan, Toshiyuki Tanaka retired when Ventura de la Chaule initially took a dislike to the angled Gallun corners (12ab) and called it a day at the following EI hedges (13abc).