As he had done for the opening flurries on Wednesday, course designer Alan Wade (IRL) produced another immense course that tested combinations to the maximum.
So much so, there were only five clear rounds without time faults from the listed 122 starters - De Luca, third-placed Peder Fredricson, of Sweden, Germany's Simone Blum in fourth, Irish challenger Cian O'Connor, who is fifth, and seventh-placed Max Kuhner of Austria.
Reflecting on his round with Clinta, Ward said, "The last line was very difficult and I decided to do the one extra stride and ran out of room and somehow the horse fought her way through that situation. She was just spectacular. We are right up there in medal contention and we will just stay focused on that."
De Luca, meanwhile, was drawn right at the end of a long day's action aboard Irenice Horta, and he said, "That was really difficult as I watched many riders and it was a long day, but I had a good chance to watch a few rounds and I know my mare so I figured out what I needed to do. She is in super shape, and she did another amazing round. She has a great mind - I just need to ride good and give her the chance to do her best."
As he had done for the opening flurries on Wednesday, course designer Alan Wade (IRL) produced another immense course that tested combinations to the maximum.
So much so, there were only five clear rounds without time faults from the listed 122 starters - De Luca, third-placed Peder Fredricson, of Sweden, Germany's Simone Blum in fourth, Irish challenger Cian O'Connor, who is fifth, and seventh-placed Max Kuhner of Austria.
Reflecting on his round with Clinta, Ward said, "The last line was very difficult and I decided to do the one extra stride and ran out of room and somehow the horse fought her way through that situation. She was just spectacular. We are right up there in medal contention and we will just stay focused on that."
De Luca, meanwhile, was drawn right at the end of a long day's action aboard Irenice Horta, and he said, "That was really difficult as I watched many riders and it was a long day, but I had a good chance to watch a few rounds and I know my mare so I figured out what I needed to do. She is in super shape, and she did another amazing round. She has a great mind - I just need to ride good and give her the chance to do her best."