Zara Phillips has been tipped as a future Olympic champion despite missing out on the British three-day eventing team for Athens. Phillips, who is 11th in the line to the throne, failed to secure selection after her horse Toytown was injured.
But Yogi Breisner, the team's performance director, told BBC Sport: "She's young enough to make a mark at a fair few Olympics in the future.
"And she's good enough to be a future gold medallist."
The 23-year-old has the perfect pedigree for further success in the sport.
Her mother, Princess Anne, represented Britain at the 1972 Olympics, while her father, Captain Mark Phillips, won gold in the team event four years later.
Zara Phillips is in the relative infancy of her career.
But on her debut in a four-star event at the 2003 Burghley Horse Trials she was just edged into second place by Pippa Funnell.
And Breisner added: "She's a very capable rider. Sadly this time around her horse was injured so she was immediately out of contention.
"She would certainly have been a contender for the team if that hadn't been the case. She's got the hunger you need to win."
MMIX
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