Course Designer Uliano Vezzani asked them some very tricky questions with difficult distances and big fences and, this time around, the penultimate double at fence 12 proved the bogey of the day.

The field was reduced from 42 to 37 as Elliot Stone (Freestyle) Can, McLain Ward (Goldika) USA and Ambak Qabil (Opium Metodo) MAS were all eliminated for falls in the first final class yesterday, Rodrigo Pessoa withdrew Baloubet du Rouet because he was concerned about the way his horse, who knocked two fences, was jumping and America’s Norman dello Joio is out of contention because his horse Quriel stood on a nail before the first competition.

Yann Candele, the Frenchman based with Eric Lamaze in Canada, was lying in 32^nd position after Thursday’s opening event but Mill Creek Sweet Dream found the bigger track much more to her liking today and produced the first clear round when sixth to go. America’s Laura Kraut, who had an unfortunate stop at the first element of the double of water trays yesterday was next to come home with a clean sheet – Anthem deciding that the trays, this time placed under verticals at fences six and eight, were no problem and Rolf-Goran Bengtsson put in a no-nonsense round with MacKinley to ensure Sweden’s inclusion in the closing stages.

The stunningly elegant Montender made it all look very easy when recording the fourth clear of the competition for Germany’s Marco Kutscher while Belgium’s Ludo Philippaerts and Parco did likewise but Bruno’s round with Dileme de Cephe was considerably less stylish – the Frenchman almost parting company with his gelding when jumped out of the saddle as he tackled the oxer which was between the two water-tray fences on a related-distance straight line.

Meredith and Shutterfly put in a class performance when, third-last into the ring, they secured that seventh clear round but defending champion Markus Ehning’s dream of making it a double of World Cup wins was shattered when Anka hit the middle part of the combination at fence five and clipped the second element of the double at fence 12. Horses were coming away from the in-gate on the approach to this one and Toni Hassmann’s Camirez B showed exactly what was in some of their minds as the horse tried to duck out through the entrance costing his rider valuable time and a lot of irritation.

Yann led the way against the clock and set a tough standard when crossing the line clear in 36.58 seconds. Laura Kraut and Anthem and Rolf-Goran with MacKinley both knocked two fences each, remarkably recording their eight fault results in precisely the same time of 38.26 seconds and Montender dropped a leg on the oxer, number four on the track, when Marco asked him to turn in mid-air, finishing also with a total of eight when catching the front pole of the double three from home. Ludo and Parco however looked like they might oust Yann from the lead when jumping big and clean but, despite some wild flapping of the reins from his rider on their run to the last, the handsome grey was over a second slower when stopping the clock in 37.75 seconds.

Bruno and Dileme de Cephe may have looked risky at their first attempt but, second-last to go and knowing Meredith was coming behind him, the French rider set off in a lovely rhythm and, meeting all his fences on a perfect stride took a brave gallop to the last to break the beam in 36.55 seconds and take over the lead. If he had been excited about going clear in round one that paled into insignificance in comparison to his delight when he realised what he had done this time around and the French supporters cheered ecstatically as he removed his hat and waved delightedly to the crowd knowing he had put it up to the final partnership. Meredith, first lady-rider to ever win the Western European League when topping the series this season, was not going to risk everything to beat him and, although fast, brave and accurate, was not stretched to the limit when the clock showed 36.74 seconds – good enough for third place for the second day in succession – as she crossed the line.

She said afterwards "I just didn’t want to overdo it today. I have been riding tactically and I want to have something in reserve for Sunday". She must however be feeling confident, with Shutterfly in an excellent frame of mind ahead of the crunch two-round challenge which follows tomorrow’s rest day for the championship horses.

Yann Candele’s second placing today has drawn some serious attention to the Frenchman. Asked if he might now be considered as a contender for Athens however he said "I don’t believe that will happen because of the way the system works but anyway I don’t think my horse is ready for the Olympic Games. I am very happy just to be here – the horse is full of promise for the future but I don’t want to ask too much of him too soon. May aim when I arrived here was to get through to Sunday’s competition and I have done that".

When asked how he would cope with pressure in the last final competition on Sunday he said – "Maybe the other riders are more used to this level of competition than I am but I will be fine and at ease competing on Sunday".

Markus Fuchs may have been disappointed at losing his grip on pole position but, after many years of top-level competitive riding, he understands how fickle the sport of show jumping can be.

"I felt fantastic until I got to the last fence – Tinka’s Boy was giving me a beautiful feeling but maybe I was too confident – I planned six strides between the last two fences and if I had to do it again I would do the same thing only I would ride it better!" he said but, just four points behind the joint-leaders, he is still very much in the race. "When I won the World Cup in 2001 I was 7^th in the first competition and 3^rd on the second day" he added.

Bruno of course was more than pleased with the position in which he now finds himself. "I knew what kind of courses to expect when I came here because I have jumped Vezzani’s tracks before in Rome" he said. His unorthodox and unpredictable riding style may cause a few heart-stopping moments every now and then but his partnership with his horse is well-cemented as he has had the 13 year old gelding since he was a three year old and they know each other very well. He is determined to give Meredith a run for her money but the result is in no way settled yet as Malin Baryard, lying fourth with six points, Ludo who has now improved to fifth after the results were transformed into points after yesterday’s class, and Wim Schroder, carrying seven points, are within reach should things go awry for the leaders in the last competition.

The stage is now set for a classic conclusion to the Sony Ericsson FEI World Cup Jumping Final.

RESULT:
1, Dileme de Cephe (Bruno Broucqsault) Fra 0/0 36.55;
2, Mill Creek Sweet Dream (Yann Candele) Fra 0/0 36.58;
3, Shutterfly (Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum) Ger 0/0 36.74;
4, Parco (Ludo Philippaerts) Bel 0/0 37.75;
5, Montender (Marco Kutscher) Ger 0/8 37.65;
equal 6, Anthem (Laura Kraut) USA 0/8 38.26, MacKinley (Rolf-Goran Bengtsson) Swe 08 38.26;
equal 8, Lucie (Lars Nieberg) Ger, Flashlight (Dominey Alexander) RSA, JPC Modesto Equifoam (Jean-Marc Nicolas) Fra, VDL Groep Eve des Etisses) Hubert Bourdy Fra, El Campeon’s So Long (Nicole Shahinian-Simpson) USA, Hilton Flight (Richard Spooner) USA, Audi’s Jikke (Eric Van der Vleuten) Ned, Albin 111 (Juan Carlos Garcia) Ita, Cigale du Tallis (Eugenie Angot) Fra, Handel 11 (Michael Whitaker) GB, Eurocommerce Montreal (Wim Schroder) Ned, H&M Butterfly Flip (Malin Baryard) Swe, Tinka’s Boy (Markus Fuchs) Sui 4 faults;
21, Salamandra Chapman Rouge (Andre Miranda) Bra 5 faults;
equal 22, Novesta (Gunnar Klettenberg) Est, Djane de Fontenis (Grzegorz Kubiak) Pol, Catch 22 (Ainsley Vince) Can, Lauriston (Peter Wylde) USA, Lando (Otto Becker) Ger, Qerly Chin (Christophe Barbeau) Sui, Equest Carnute (Thomas Velin) Den, Anka (Markus Ehning) Ger;
30, Camirez B (Toni Hassmann) Ger 11;
equal 31, Survival (Seiji Ninomiya) Jpn, Corlanda (Sencer Can) Tur 12 faults;
equal 33, Mr Innocent (Timothy Amitrano) Aus, De Sjiem (Jeroen Dubbeldam) Ned 16 faults:
35, Wembley da Lagoa (Marcelo Lemes de Souza) Bra 20 faults; Remember Me (Laura Linback) USA, El Campeon’s Ado Annie (William Simpson) USA Ret.

STANDINGS AFTER SECOND FINAL COMPETITION:

Equal 1. Bruno Broucqsault (Dileme de Cephe) Fra - 0 and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (Shutterfly) Ger – 0
3. Markus Fuchs (Tinka’s Boy) Sui – 4
4. Malin Baryard (H&M Butterfly Flip) Swe – 6
5. Ludo Philippaerts (Parco) Bel – 7
6. Wim Schroder (Eurocommerce Montreal) Ned – 8
Equal 7. Eugenie Angot (Cigale du Tallis) Fra – 9
Marco Kutscher (Montender) Ger – 9
Michael Whitaker (Portofino/Handel) GB – 9
Equal 10. Juan Carlos Garcia (Albin) Ita – 10
Markus Ehning (Anka) Ger – 10
Rolf-Goran Bengtsson (MacKinley) Swe – 10
Equal 13. Eric Van der Vleuten (Audi’s Jikke) Ned – 11
Thomas Velin (Equest Carnute) Den – 11
Equal 15. Christophe Barbeau (Qerly Chin) Sui – 13
Richard Spooner (Hilton Flight) USA – 13
Equal 17. Laura Kraut (Anthem) USA – 14 Yann Candele (Mill Creek Sweet Dream) Fra – 14
Equal 19. Nicole Shahinian-Simpson (El Campeon’s So Long) USA - 15 and Toni Hassmann (Camirez B) Ger – 15
Equal 21. Hubert Bourdy (VDL Groep Eve des Etisses) Fra - 17 and Otto Becker (Lando) Ger – 17
23. Peter Wylde (Lauriston) USA – 18
Equal 24. Dominey Alexander (Flashlight) RSA - 19 and Jean-Marc Nicolas (JPC Modesto Equifoam) Fra – 19
Equal 26. Ainsley Vince (Catch 22) Can - 20 and Jeroen Dubbeldam (Nassau/De Sjiem) – 20
Equal 28. Grzegorz Kubiak (Djane de Fontenis) Pol - 22 and Lars Nieberg (Lucie) Ger – 22
30. Andre Miranda (Salamandra Chapman Rouge) Bra – 24
31. Gunnar Klettenberg (Novesta) Est – 26
32. Sencer Can (Corlanda) Tur – 27
33. William Simpson (El Campeon’s Ado Annie) USA – 28
Equal 34. Laura Lindback (Remember Me) USA – 31 and Seiji Ninomiya (Survival) Jpn – 31 and Timothy Amitrano (Mr Innocent) Aus – 31
37. Marcelo Lemes de Souza (Wembley da Lagoa) Bra – 33
38. Rodrigo Pessoa (Baloubet du Rouet) Bra – 36
Equal 39. Elliot Stone (Free Style) Can – 39; McLain Ward (Goldika) USA – 39; Norman dello Joio (Quriel) USA – 39; Qabil Ambak (Opium Metodo) Mas – 39.