Will Coleman & Off The Record Lead By 0.3 After Cross-Country

Thirty-three combinations started Derek di Grazia's course, with an optimum time of 10:09. Rockett 19, Sorocaima and Fernhill Salt Lake withdrew before cross-country. Twenty-two completed, 17 of them without a jumping penalty.

The time was the story of the morning. Mary Bess Davis & Imperio Magic came closest early on, clear with 1.6 time faults, and climbed from 32nd after dressage to fourth.

Isabelle Bosley & Conner came home clear inside 10:09 and moved from ninth to the provisional lead. Two horses later, Will Coleman & Off The Record matched them and went 0.3 ahead.

Boyd Martin, the defending champion, had 20 jumping penalties and 22.8 time on Luke 140. Laine Ashker & Lovedance jumped clear with 12.8 time to sit fifth. Lucienne Bellissimo and Dyri retired. Sharon White & Claus 63 were clear with 4.8 time, 12 seconds over, to sit third. Tamie Smith and Danito, last out, retired.

Of the nine from the dressage top ten who started, five jumped clear: Off The Record, Conner, Claus 63, Lovedance and HSH Connor. Only Off The Record and Conner made the time. Kim Severson & Cooley Corraghy Diamond, Thursday's overnight leaders, had 20 jumping penalties. Caroline Pamukcu completed on all three horses, with HSH Connor best placed in 13th.

This is the second year in a row that Off The Record leads the Final going into show jumping. Last year he was clear inside the time here, then had one rail on Sunday and finished second, 0.4 behind Miks Master C.

Will Coleman has now finished clear inside the time at the Morven Park CCI4*-L three times, twice last year with Off The Record and Very Dignified, and again today. No other rider has done it more than once since the event started in 2021.

Off The Record has seven international wins, all in short format. He has never won a long-format event in ten previous starts.

Conner is on his second CCI4*-L start. He retired on cross-country at the first, Bromont in June. This was his first round inside the time at four-star level: all four of his completed four-star cross-country rounds collected time. Isabelle Bosley has won four times internationally with him, two of them in long format.

Claus 63 has his first clear cross-country round at Morven Park in four CCI4*-L starts. He was eliminated here in 2021 and 2022 and had 20 jumping penalties last year. He is 2.2 behind the leader, less than one rail.

A rail costs 4.0. Every second over the show jumping time costs 0.4. The top three are covered by 2.2.

Top eight after cross-country

Dressage place, cross-country jumping / time penalties, and running score.

#	Combination	After DR	XC	Score
1	Will Coleman Off The Record	7th	0 / 0	28.6
2	Isabelle Bosley Conner	9th	0 / 0	28.9
3	Sharon White Claus 63	2nd	0 / 4.8	30.8
4	Mary Bess Davis Imperio Magic	32nd	0 / 1.6	39.5
5	Laine Ashker Lovedance	5th	0 / 12.8	39.7
6	Mia Farley Invictus	=12th	0 / 8.4	39.8
7	Shannon Lilley Eindhoven Garette	=24th	0 / 4.0	40.0
8	Arielle Aharoni Cooley Baltic Sea	=22nd	0 / 6.4	42.0

Scores via Morven Park live results. Form and history via EquiRatings.

Five editions of the Morven Park CCI4*-L since 2021. Here is how this one compares.

Two clear rounds inside the time is in line with previous years: one in 2021, three in 2022, none in 2023, four in 2024 and three last year.