Romelus shows star quality

Jessica Burke's stunning sevenyear-old gelding enjoys the spotlight as these new-look championships receive great acclaim

- SARAH RADFORD

TWO weeks after taking home the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, Irish rider Jessica Burke was on winning form again at Hickstead, heading the Breen Equestrian British seven-yearold final with the promising Romelus De Muze.

The first round track of this feature final was fair but elicited light, scattered faults and eight pairs from 48 starters made the second phase.

In the jump-off, Jessica and the Bamako De Muze x Marius Claudius gelding took the advantage from midfield, holding the edge over rival bids, including from fellow Irish rider David Simpson (Mambo NR 5 “B”), who was up on the clock but dislodged an early rail.

It was left to Daniella Johnston, fresh from victory in the newcomers masters at Stoneleigh (see p54), to take runner-up with Tina IV, while Lottie Tutt (Billy Pronto) was 0.16sec off her heels for third.

“Initially I thought I’d try to jump another clear and try to qualify for the FEI’s world breeding championships at Lanaken, but I spoke to Roger McCrea and he said, ‘Go and try to win, you haven’t asked him to win a class before’ – and it worked,” Hampshirebased Jessica said.

“It was the first time I’ve gone that quickly with him but it shows we have the rideability in the right place, the round felt nice and smooth.”

Romelus De Muze was bought on the Sunshine Tour as a five-year-old, having a light campaign last year followed by a build-up towards Lanaken as his principal aim this term.