The British show jumping Derby's well-deserved reputation as a gruelling test of stamina and courage was upheld at Hickstead yesterday when the classic contest, backed for the first time this year by Peugeot, was won on a four fault score by John Popely and the Irish-bred mare, Sight and Sound Bluebird. With the favourites for the £24,000 winner's purse grouped near the end of the 29-runner field, the tension hadn't even begun to mount when Popely, sixth to go, took on the 16-fence test. But the 29-year-old grabbed the attention of the capacity ringside crowd with a superb effort from his 12-year-old Spectrach mare, marred only by a rail off the final element of the Devil's Dyke.
He was then forced to sit through a further 23 rounds of jumping before his victory was confirmed. "Words can't describe the feeling I had when I knew I'd won. I wouldn't wish anyone bad luck, but it was a long wait!"
Amongst the riders Popely feared most were the Irish pair, Peter Charles, winner of Friday's Derby Trial and intent on defying the odds against making it a double - only Eddie Macken has ever won both events in the same year - and Captain John Ledingham, primed for a fourth win and odds-on favourite to succeed.
Charles, held up before his round started when a loose horse in the arena refused to be caught, was confident of the abilities of his French-bred, T'Aime, but the nine-year-old was surprised by the white rails at the bottom of the 10ft 6ins Derby Bank, faulting here and again at the final oxer.
Irish hopes then evaporated when Ledingham and Kilbaha made an uncharacteristic error at the privet hedge, fence six, and dragged a toe at the final part of the Devil's Dyke to share an eventual equal third placing with Charles, and Britain's Tim Stockdale (Interview).
The runner-up purse was claimed by course specialists William Funnell and Comex, who were the only combination to connect with the small rail at the top of the Bank and added a further three faults at the open ditch, three fences from home. A swift move up the gears brought Funnell home without the addition of time faults and earned him a £15,000 paycheck for a seven-fault finishing score.
Kildare-based Erik Holstein was also in the money yesterday, three fences down with his 12-year-old Dutch-bred, Ballaseyr Kalosha, leaving him equal sixth and providing a confidence boost in advance of his engagement with the Irish senior team in Rotterdam next week.
There was disappointment for defending champion Nelson Pessoa of Brazil however, the 61year-old going away empty handed when his Irish horse, Vivaldi, found the test too demanding in hot and humid conditions, and on hard ground which he does not favour, and chalked up 19 1/2 faults.
