Looking at the last 14 years, a top 6 starting position is a good foundation for claiming the title. Although, in the last 14 years, 8 times the winner of the first final round also went on to win the overall title.

In this 1.60m Table C, Julien Epaillard took the lead halfway through the class with his wife’s bred, Donatello d'Auge (Jarnac). "I just kept myself to the plan. My horse jumped incredible." Epaillard says. "The class was a bit open today. Normally Donatello is not so hot, but it should be good for the rest of the show. For me my goal is to continue in a good manner. But there's still a lot rounds to follow!"

Epaillard and the 12-year-old SF gelding finished clear in 60.30 seconds, narrowly beating the time of Ben Maher and the 11-year-old Point Break (Action-Breaker). It was previously announced that the Brit would be competing this week with a broken foot. The pair was closely followed by Lillie Keenan and the 11-year-old Kick-On (Warrior).

Early in the competition, defending champion Henrik von Eckermann jumped into the eventual fourth place. Von Eckermann and his 12-year-old KWPN mare, Iliana (Cardento), were only a few hundredths of a second faster than Kevin Staut with Visconti du Telman (Toulon).

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