BELGIAN jockey Eric Wauter snatched a last minute victory in a fast moving £9,000 Waterford Crystal jump off class, the highlight of the opening day's international action at the Volvo World Cup show in Millstreet, Co Cork last night.

Wauters, teamed up with Bon Ami, the 11 year old grey stallion, with which he also won a class on the opening day of last week's World Cup show in Brussels, was last of 15 to go against the clock and shaved a fraction of a second off the previous target set by David McPherson on Shearwater Thirtysomething.

Britain William Funnell and Comex were relegated to third place in this action packed jump off.

Tom Slattery's fifth place boosted him to second place in the season long Heineken show jumper of the year league, which reaches its conclusion tomorrow night.

Slattery, who was defeated by a single point in the Irish national championship earlier this year, is now just four points behind Francis Connors, who has been undefeated for the Heineken league for the previous five years.

Ireland's German based Olympic rider Jessica Chesney, winner of the Volvo World Cup qualifier in Millstreet four years ago, took the opening international class at the Co Cork showgrounds yesterday afternoon.

Chesney opened her campaigns by leading a field of 46 in the Horseware Products speed stakes with a new addition to her St Ludwigs sponsored team, the French bred stallion Laudatus, which until recently was standing at stud in his native country. Setting an early target of a clear round in 63.40, Chesney retained her advantage.

Today's Millstreet programme features the Volvo World Cup qualifier, in which Ireland's Trevor Coyle, currently standing in equal 16th place in the Western European league with the stallion, Cruising, enjoys the advantage of being last of the 47 runners to go to the post.

A significant addition to his Volvo points tally, which would almost certainly secure his qualification for the final in Gothenburg next spring, and the possible acquisition of the Volvo car which goes to the winner of tonight's qualifying round, would be a welcome late gift for Coyle, who celebrated his 38th birthday in Millstreet yesterday.