He was delighted with Askari, at nine the youngest horse competing. "It was disappointing that the piaffe was not better," he commented. Both Martin Schaudt on Durgo and Gonnelien Rothenberger on Olympic Dondolo performed well but neither could improve on their team's scores, with the best three to count, leaving Germany 116 marks clear USA were third for their first ever dressage medal. Britain finished a demoralising ninth of the 10 teams, lifted from the bottom by the last of their riders, Richard Davison, on Askari, the only ones to perform up to their best. Davison redeemed some pride by riding his way into the best 25 who qualify for the individual competition on Wednesday.

Second will earn them a bye direct to the semi-finals if they can hold that place, leaving the other four to race a round robin for the two other slots.. The Dutch challenge to Germany's supremacy in the dressage world kept spectators in their seats until the very end of the two days which decided the Team Grand Prix. The top six to go into the match-race final and the British trio are just one point behind the leader, Jochen Schumann of Germany, one point ahead of America's Jeff Madrigali. "But I feel much more confident now."Confident, too, are Andy Beadsworth, Barry Parkin and Adrian Stead in the Soling. They are lying second after eight out of 10 races despite being disqualified from yesterday's only start for being prematurely over the line.

The 19-year- old is sitting pretty in the gold medal slot, also with three races to run, and with a five-point margin over current world champion and great rival Robert Scheidt of Brazil.Quiet and a little shy ashore, he is fearlessly aggressive on the water, is on a roll, and could, in theory, wrap up the gold with a race to spare when he starts again today after a two-day break That, however, is not something he wishes to play up "I'm trying hard not to get too excited," he said. Pre-Games they were expected to be a banker for a medal in the 470 dinghy but a combination of erratic results in wind conditions that have been too much of a lottery to make Savannah worthy of a world status event have been compounded by penalties.They were disqualified from their first of two races on Saturday after an Estonian protest and were given a yellow flag (card) penalty when coming fourth in a hopes-saving second race. Another yellow flag would mean disqualification from that race. There has been too little silverware for what is a world- class act, too many heroic comebacks.

But they were a typically combative second in yesterday's only race, putting them fifth overall, breathing down the neck of America's Morgan Reeser, still capable of pushing into the medals, although the Ukrainian pair of Braslavets and Matviyenko look unassailable for gold.Also needing to grind it out when her final three races races start tomorrow is Shirley Robertson. The Hampshire-based Scot is nine points behind the bronze medal place in the Europe with the gold and silver out of sight. But she is convinced she can oust Courtney Becker-Dey of the United States, especially if the weather co-operates and the breezes are moderate rather than strong.Not caring is her male counterpart Ben Ainslie in the Laser. But history was made as Lai Shan Lee became, with a race to spare, the first woman from Hong Kong to win sailing gold, and also the last. By 2000 the colony will be part of the People's Republic of China.