Tuesday's torrential rain may have caused headaches for the organisers of the Blarney Castle international three-day event, which gets under way today, but the going on the cross-country track remains almost perfect because of a massive drainage system on the Colthurst family estate.

Record entries for the Blarney fixture, with 190 horses declared initially, have dwindled to leave a field of 151, one less than last year. Cornish-based Corkman Austin O'Connor defends his one-star title, but he is the only one of last year's three winners to return for the 1998 running.

Newhouse Samuel, a winner for O'Connor 12 months ago, is sidelined for a year after damaging a tendon, and O'Connor will be relying on the eight-year-old Billy Whizz in his bid for the double.

Leg problems have also kept British winner William Fox-Pitt away from Blarney this week. He won the two-star last year with the Irish export Pie In The Sky II, but he is currently nursing a broken ankle and torn ligaments. Evanna Barrington's 1998 campaign has also been blighted by lameness. The Dubliner, who claimed last year's Blarney junior honours with the mare Lady Alex, was to have run her mother's horse Benoni at Punchestown last month, but a fractured splint bone meant that the grey didn't start and was too late for a Blarney entry.

Leg injuries also nearly brought a premature end to Aine Dempsey's challenge in the Blarney one-star yesterday. The Co Limerick rider was caught twice in the back of her right leg by a flying hoof while trotting up Pepe Le Pew at the horse inspection and was pitched headlong into the dirt. No serious damage was diagnosed and the Dempseys are hoping that the swelling will go down in time for Aine's test tomorrow morning.

The first 41 of the 82 one-star horses perform in the dressage arena today, with 35 two-star tests also being judged. The remaining one and two-star runners and the 15 juniors will be put through their paces tomorrow before a marathon 10-hour cross-country session on Saturday.