Andrew Downes and Jane Moss’s Gold Nugget were crowned champions in the ROR/NFT Retrained Racehorse Event Championship at the Magic Millions Festival of British Eventing.

The pair lowered one fence in the final round of showjumping but still managed retain their overnight lead and clinch the championship, in which the top eight horses after dressage, a first round of showjumping and cross-country compete in reverse order of merit to decide the title.

Gold Nugget, an eight-year-old by Elusive City, was bred in Ireland and was later trained by Richard Hannon senior, although he didn’t record any wins, before coming to Andrew’s yard as a five-year-old. He is now at advanced level and is heading to Blair Castle Horse Trials later this month.

“On the flat, he was like a plank, with no mouth, at first, but he was a complete natural across country and seemed to know his job instinctively,” said Andrew.

Tom McEwen was second on Magdalena Gut’s Dream Big, a horse the owner backed as a yearling when working for his trainer, Sheikh Fahed, and last year’s winners, Izzy Taylor and Alex Phillips’ Zippi Jazzman, were third.