Erik Holstein, who gets his fourth cap for Ireland in today's (FRI) British Nations Cup at Hickstead, stole the Traxdata Grand Prix from under the noses of a worldclass field at the Sussex showgrounds yesterday.
Holstein, born 25 years ago in Dublin - "My mother was watching the Aga Khan Cup at the RDS when she had to rush off to hospital to have me" - has turned in solid performances in both the Lucerne and Modena Nations Cup fixtures this year, but yesterday's victory was by far the most illustrious of his career to date.
Knowing that the running order for the jump-off would be decided on the basis of first-round times, Holstein eased the Dutch-bred Ballaseyr Kalosha into overdrive in his attack on the 13-fence test, securing pole position when his was the fastest of the nine zero scores recorded.
A star-studded line-up, including three members of the Beerbaum family - Ludger, Markus and his wife of one month, American rider Meredith Michaels - contested the jumpoff.
Following a series of four rounds where poles hit the deck, Britain's Mark Armstrong (Primma) broke the sequence of faults when chalking up a zero score in 58.52. However, Jos Lansink of the Netherlands on Nissan Calvaro retaliated immediately, shaving the target time to 55.01.
James Fisher (Renville) gave the British crowd an opportunity to exercise their vocal cords when running the Dutchman close, but the clock, flashing 55.98, denied the hosts a celebration. The party was destined instead for the Irish camp when Holstein followed the advice of his tutor and team-mate Peter Charles to the letter, with spectacular results.
"Go as fast as you can, don't knock the fences and you'll win," Charles had counselled, and this proved to be the just the inspiration Holstein needed to secure the first Grand Prix success of his career, following a fifth placing on familiar territory in Dublin last year.
However, despite his convincing victory here by a margin of a second and a half, Holstein will not rely on Kalosha for today's Nations Cup, preferring to place his trust in Let's Talk About, the younger German-bred Ballaseyr.
Ireland, second last of six squads to go in today's team contest, will send out Peter Charles (T'Aime) as pathfinder, followed by Captain John Ledingham (Kilbaha) and Holstein (Let's Talk About), with Eddie Macken (Miss FAN) in the familiar role of anchorman.
Currently lying sixth in the season-long Samsung Nations Cup series, the Irish will be hoping for a good result today, although historically this has not been a happy hunting ground for the green jackets, who have not claimed the British Nations Cup since 1937. The British will be aiming for a fourth consecutive success on home ground, but on current form appear to have their work cut out.
