London 2012 Olympic gold medallists Scott Brash and Ben Maher lit up the London International Horse Show at Olympia on Sunday after they waged a thrilling head-to-head battle in the Longines FEI World Cup class.
And it was former world number one Brash, riding Hello M'lady, who came up trumps, thwarting Maher and Diva II by just 12 hundredths of a second following a brilliant jump-off performance that gave Britain its' first Olympia World Cup winner since Maher five years ago.
Brash collected £30,000 for his efforts as a capacity crowd revelled in a thrilling atmosphere highlighted by the top five finishers - Brash, Maher, Belgium's Nicola Philippaerts, American Laura Kraut and 61-year-old British Olympian John Whitaker - being separated by less than a second.
Brash, who confirmed his London gold medal-winning ride Hello Sanctos is now back in work after injury, showcased his class to win a prestigious prize that since 2011 had gone to Dutch, German and Italian riders.
"I must say, I thought Ben was very fast. He did a fantastic round," Brash said, of his 2012 Great Britain team-mate. "I knew we all had to be as fast as we could to beat him.
"Hello M'lady is quite a sharp mare, very sensitive, but she is really intelligent with a fantastic brain and she loves going fast. That is probably one of the quickest rounds she has done so far.
"She is an exceptional horse, and I hope there is more to come from her in the future.
"To win in front of a home crowd in London, there is no better feeling.
"I am targeting the World Cup series this year. The calendar is so full these days, but I am very fortunate that I have a strong team and I can target one horse for the World Cup final.
"To finish off the year with a home win is great for me and my team. It's wonderful to win here.
"Ben's time was very fast. You had to get everything dead-right to beat him, because he left nothing. I didn't really know if it was beatable, but we gave it our best shot.
"Hello M'lady has always been an exceptional horse, always talented. She has been in the background, but now she has turned into the grand prix horse that I always thought she would be."
Runner-up Maher, meanwhile, added: "My horse jumped great today. Congratulations to Scott - he did an unbelievable job. I don't think there was any more I could have done.
"The horse gave me everything, and it is just nice to have the horse back in form again."
mfl
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