Canada's Stuart Black upset the applecart at Badminton yesterday when trumping all the big dressage guns to take the overnight lead, leaving open European champion Mark Todd 1.4 penalties adrift and sharing second place with Britain's Owen Moore.
The 38-year-old, who was born in Cheshire, moved to Canada in 1977 and is now based in America, had planned to ride at Badminton last year. Less than 24 hours before the start of competition, Market Venture had to be withdrawn. Black plans to make amends by pitching his 1998 campaign in winning mode from the outset.
A seamlessly smooth test from Market Venture, which is out of an Irish show jumping mare and by one of Sam Barr's prolific sires, Welton Apollo, earned a mark of 33.8 that was more than 11 points clear of the opposition at the lunch break.
So much of the best wine was saved till last that Black could only hover in the stands waiting to be toppled, but although Todd and his Burghley gold medal horse Broadcast News, and Owen Moore's new ride Lightfoot, came close, the Canadian clung on to the coveted overnight lead going into today's cross country.
Black believes, "if I ride him right he'll jump it right", but there are a lot of questions out on the massive, 32-fence track that have caused consternation among even the most experienced members of the field.
Lucy Thompson, who had ridden her European gold medallist Welton Romance into fifth on Thursday, had slid down to equal 22nd with the mare by close of play yesterday afternoon. But she slotted Welton Molecule into seventh after a test marred only by the gelding's anticipation of the second flying change.
Eric Smiley is still within a single mistake of the leaders, lying equal 26th with Enterprise, while Mark Kyle (Irish Patriot) and Virginia McGrath (The Yellow Earl) have rather more ground to make up in 48th and 58th respectively.
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