Eddie Macken, backbone of the Irish team for the past 27 years, misses out on the Aga Khan Cup today for only the third time in his long and illustrious career.
The Co Longford-born rider, who is now permanently based in Germany, was due to fill his traditional captain's role in today's Nations Cup team with Miss Fan, but the mare has been sidelined after damaging a foreleg during Wednesday's jumping.
"She's just sore," Macken said yesterday, unable to conceal his disappointment at missing his cup rendezvous. "It doesn't seem to be anything significant and there's no heat; she could have pulled a muscle or anything."
The French-bred 14-year-old has been plagued with leg problems since pulling a ligament at the back of her knee in the spring of 1996, but Macken was adamant yesterday that the latest setback is not related to the original injury.
Although he hopes that the damage is not too serious to the mare that won world and European silver medals for her former rider, Frenchman Michel Robert, Macken says he will not run Miss Fan in either Sunday's Kerrygold Grand Prix or next week's German Nations Cup fixture in Aachen.
"It is a big disappointment," he said yesterday afternoon, "especially as they're going to win. But Erik's horse has been going super all year and he deserves a chance."
The Erik in question is Erik Holstein, whose German-born mother Gisela went into labour during the Aga Khan Cup 25 years ago, and who makes his Irish team debut in Dublin this afternoon. Holstein, who rode Ballaseyr Kalosha to win last month's Hickstead Grand Prix in brilliant style, teams up with the same horse today when he comes in as number three for the home side.
Irish chef d'equipe Tommy Wade has called up former European champion Peter Charles to open Ireland's defence of the Cup. Charles rides his talented youngster, Carnavelly, with Capt John Ledingham following him in with double Hickstead Derby winner, Kilbaha. Trevor Coyle fills the number four berth with Mary McCann's Lucerne Grand Prix winner, Cruising.
Wade is quietly optimistic about the Irish chances of retaining the cup when the quartet comes in third of the seven teams today. But British chef Ronnie Massarella is convinced that his squad, drawn fourth to go and with three talented Irish-breds in the side, could be the one to thwart Irish hopes.
The British are certainly on song this week, with Wednesday's winner, John Whitaker, adding the Kerrygold International to his tally with the stallion, Virtual Village Randi, and Robert Smith taking the Kerrygold Classic with the veteran Senator Tees Hanauer, which topped the line-up for last year's Kerrygold Grand Prix.
The Whitaker name had been in the winners' enclosure earlier in the day when 15-year-old Robert, team gold medallist at last month's European pony championships in Le Touquet, brought out the same mare, Correlli Bravo, to win the Ann Smurfit Bloodstock 148cms class with David Broome's Matthew as runner-up.
Co Galway rider Tom Slattery had something of a double when finishing second twice behind the British winners yesterday. Slattery, who took the Heineken Derby at Millstreet with Coille Mor Hill a fortnight ago, rode the same stallion into the runner-up slot in the Kerrygold Classic, having earlier finished second to John Whitaker in the Kerrygold International with Clover Brigade.