But I would be very surprised and not at all pleased if we had a many as nine or 10 he said

"But I would be very surprised, and not at all pleased, if we had a many as nine or 10," he said.BURGHLEY HORSE TRIALS (Stamford) Standings after first day of dressage: 1 Star Appeal (M King, GB) 43.4 penalties; 2 Bits and Pieces (P Funnell, GB) 47.4; 3 Coeur de Rocker (D Siguret, Fr) 47.6; 4= Buckley Province (A Nicholson, NZ) and Best Seller (M Weissbecker, US) 55.4; 6 Comic Relief (R Powell, GB) 56.0.. Funnell is one of the riders who has help from Mark Phillips, who designed the cross-country course here.Didier Seguret of France is just 0.2pt behind Funnell on Coeur de Rocker, and behind the Frenchman come Andrew Nicholson on last year's winner, Buckley Province, and America's Mark Weissbecker on Best Seller, who are now lying joint fourth. Rodney Powell and the reformed Comic Relief, who gave him a terrible ride at Badminton where he had the worst dressage score of all, is sixth.Phillips is hoping that no more than two or three horses finish within the optimum time over the cross-country. She is also relying on new tack (a Dutch gag with a Waterford mouthpiece and a controller noseband) to provide effective brakes.Funnell's mount, Bits and Pieces, was impressive when he won at Blenheim last year and there will be much interest in watching him tackle his first four-star course. "Quite a lot depends on the way I ride him; if I can be quiet with him early on and not try to dominate him, he usually settles better."King was glad to see some big fences at the start of the course, as they should help her partner concentrate on jumping.

The Irish-bred gelding, who was fourth here two years ago, produced the best test of his career to overtake the long-time leader, Pippa Funnell, on the little skewbald Bits and Pieces. King said Star Appeal finds the dressage difficult, but he has nevertheless "come on by leaps and bounds." She is hoping that she can contain his enthusiasm over the cross-country, and that his accident-prone days (which included a broken leg when kicked by another horse in his field and a poisoned foot after treading on a nail) are over. "Star Appeal tends to get very excited when he is galloping," King said. Mary King held the lead on Star Appeal after the first day of dressage was completed at the Burghley Pedigree Chum Horse Trials in warm sunshine yesterday. It is the only domestic Classic to elude him, most famously when the Stoute-trained Shergar finished only fourth in 1981. Swinburn celebrated his first Group One success since his return when riding Pilsudski to victory in the Grosser Preis von Baden last Sunday.. The rider, who missed the first four Classics this year while he recovered from serious injury, will be attempting to secure his first victory in the race. Walter Swinburn was yesterday given the chance to return to the Classic arena when he was booked by Michael Stoute to partner the Ebor winner, Clerkenwell, in the St Leger.

Offered $20m (pounds 12.7m) prior to the great horse's shock defeat at Del Mar last, the bid has nevertheless been raised to $30m (pounds 19.1m), the same amount that secured Lammtarra from Sheikh Mohammed's Darley Stud earlier this year.Paulson has a powerful incentive not to part with the horse that has drawn huge crowds and helped to revitalise racing in the United States "Cigar is an all-American hero," he said "My popularity would go down if I sold him.". A similar trend in the Sixties and Seventies when top performers were bought up by North American studs was brought to a halt when Abdullah and the Maktoums entered the scene and established their own studs in Britain. The benefit of that has been to reinforce Britain's position as the strongest racing nation in Europe by upgrading the quality of bloodstock.Seeing that position undermined is a depressing prospect and one that is sure to be one of the main topics of conversation when the domestic yearling-sales season starts at Doncaster next week.The United States is not immune to the power of the yen and it has been reported this week that Allen Paulson is finding it increasingly difficult to resist Japanese attempts to buy Cigar. Now aged 11, his best performer this year was another miler, Charnwood Forest.Purchased by the Japan Racing Association, Warning will be joining the last five Derby victors before this year's winner, Shaamit, -Generous, Dr Devious, Commander In Chief, Erhaab and Lammtarra - in Japan.

He will swiftly be followed by this year's King George VI &Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner, Pentire.The consequences of so many leading stallions leaving Britain within such a brief period are incalculable. Another half-brother, Deploy, remains in Abdullah's stallion ranks, while Dushyantor, the latest of Slightly Dangerous's sons to reach the top flight, is favourite for the St Leger tomorrow week. Punters should perhaps take Warning's sale as a sign of confidence that Dushyantor will attain Group One success at Doncaster and become a worthy replacement for Warning in Abdullah's band of stallions.The champion miler of his generation when winning the Sussex Stakes and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes as a three-year-old in 1988, Warning was the top first-season sire of 1993. The level of prize-money here, of course, is not much use in that respect.It is estimated that it required $8m (pounds 5.1m) to tempt Warning away from Abdullah's Banstead Manor Stud in Newmarket, compared with the pounds 4m and $6.8m (pounds 4.3m) that the Japanese spent respectively on Warning's half-brother Commander In Chief and that horse's sire, Dancing Brave, from the same source.In selling Warning and Commander In Chief, Abdullah has dispensed with two of the most successful sons of the remarkable broodmare Slightly Dangerous. The alarm is sounding throughout the British breeding industry as the best bloodstock seeps away to the Far East, but sadly there can be no adequate response. The purchasing power of the richest racing nation on the planet is simply too strong to resist. That it is the Saudi Arabian Khalid Abdullah - who along with the Maktoum family has dominated British racing over the last 15 years - who is doing the selling is an indication that even the wealthiest and most successful owners operating in this country cannot resist the opportunity to help make the books balance. Danny Law provided some rapid, if futile, resistance, with 75 which contained four sixes and nine fours off 45 balls.

Alamgir Sheriyar returned a championship-best 6 for 99.Matthew Maynard's 69 off 44 balls with five sixes put Glamorgan in a position to declare today. On 281 for 6, they are 330 ahead of Hampshire.Gloucestershire have offered their 33-year-old captain, Courtney Walsh, a new two-year contract.. The name of the latest leading stallion to be lured to Japan says it all -Warning. The three-man panel, who took samples of soil and interviewed the head groundsman, Peter Marron, said the pitch had produced excessive spin on the first day. They warned the county that, if they produced another unsatisfactory championship wicket in the next 12 months, they would forfeit 10 points.In 1994 Lancashire were penalised 25 points for an unfit championship pitch and earlier this season their track at Southport was reported by the umpires although no action was taken.Sussex's loss by an innings and 14 runs against Worcestershire was their fourth successive championship defeat. After 17 wickets fell on Tuesday's first day, the panel was summoned by the umpires. After Tufnell added 7 for 49 to his first innings haul of 6 for 74 to take Middlesex to a 23-run victory the pitch was inspected for five hours.