Nicholson is foiled again

NEW ZEALAND's Andrew Nicholson, who has been pipped by Mary King twice in the last three weeks, lived to regret his horse's name at the Vauxhall Monterey three-day event at Blenheim yesterday when Dawdle's three-quarters of a time fault in the show jumping gave King the margin she needed to claim victory - by a mere .15 of a penalty.

King, who has won both the British and Scottish championships and the major autumn feature at Burghley since her return from the Olympics, had maintained her dressage advantage with a brilliant clear around Saturday's demanding cross-country, but the eight-year-old King Solomon had collected 4.8 time faults in the process to allow her rivals to creep closer.

Dressage runner-up Pippa Funnell slid out of the picture with two cross-country stops on the inexperienced mare The Tourmaline Rose, but a superbly timed round from Nicholson and the classy gelding Dawdle had boosted the Kiwi up from overnight 12th to third.

Sandwiched in between the two arch rivals was the self-styled geriatric novice" Chris Bartle, who had also galloped up the placings with Word Perfect II to take a temporary hold on the top slot until deposed by last out on the course, Mary King, under the new reverse order of merit format.

Dawdle had belied his name on Saturday afternoon, but he lived up to it 24 hours later and, although all the show jumps remained intact, the clock showed that fractional addition to his overnights score to give King a fence in hand. Bartle lost his chance of a first international win with two down and King then proved just how vital that increased margin was when King Solomon kicked out the front rail of the oxer at nine. But everything else stayed put to give King her fourth major victory of the season

Both Jane O'Flynn (Ladakha) and Alison Kissock (Firefighter) were clear across country for Ireland, but Karen Connolly and Wullemberg Crisp were unlucky to pick up 20 penalties for a steering problem coming out of the water and Austin O'Connor was even harder hit when turning over at the double of corners three from home after a fine performance from the mare Simply Rhett.

The Irish misfortune continued yesterday morning when Wullemberg Crisp was one of two horses held over for reinspection and finally given the thumbs down, but a show jumping clear from Simply Rhett for just half a time fault boosted O'Connor back up the placings to 54th.

Both Firefighter and Ladakha faulted just once, but Firefighter's three-quarters for time dropped him below Jane O'Flynn's 1995 Necarne winner to leave the Irish pair well up in the money in 15th and 16th.