UPTON'S Leslie Law enjoyed the ideal Badminton warm-up after a journey across the Atlantic Ocean.

The 40-year-old Athens three-day event gold medallist is yet to win a Badminton title in an otherwise superb career but is a hot prospect on both Shear L'Eau and Shear H20.

And Law proved his current form at the world-class Rolex Kentucky three-day event in the USA.

He finished in a fine third place on Keith Scott's horse Coup de Coeur as the only British home-based rider at the competition. The pair were second after the opening dressage phase and produced a nearly faultless cross-country round, adding a mere 4.4 time penalties to their score to remain second coming into the final show jumping phase.

Law admitted: "I'm very excited about his future potential. Coup de Coeur might be a European Championship contender after this performance.

"Michael Etherington-Smith's course at Kentucky is one of the best I've seen, although the general consensus was that the water was more difficult than it had been in years past."

The pair would have held second place in the final show jumping phase with just one fence down.

But, unluckily, they added a single time penalty to their score which pushed them down into third overall.

Law will face strong opposition at Badminton, not least last year's runner-up Andrew Nicholson who is a New Zealand Olympic medallist.

He has yet to claim a Badminton win, something he will be all out to change on Lord Killinghurst and Fenicio.

Four past Badminton winners will also be among the challengers at the event, which starts today at the Duke of Beaufort's Gloucestershire park.

They are Rodney Powell, on Badminton first-timer Liquid Ice, Mary King on the late Caroline Pratt's Call Again Cavalier, double winner Pippa Funnell with Primmores Pride and Cornerman and holder William Fox Pitt on Tamarillo and Ballincoola.