‘It’s gutting but there’s a lot more to come from him’: unlucky faults deny Joe Stockdale and talented stallion first 5* win

Joe Stockdale and the much-admired 10-year-old stallion Ebanking gave a real glimpse of their potential at 5* level when they came within millimetres of taking a win in Royal Windsor Horse Show’s 1.55m Kingdom of Bahrain Stakes for The King’s Cup.

Riders often talk about having “an unlucky pole” but for once the description could not have been more accurate, as the slightest of taps at the final fence shattered the partnership’s hope of victory...