abu hasan had left the jara crossing uncontested, but he deployed strong forces along the salado. the castilian vanguard met serious resistance; de lara was unable to cross the shallow river, but the king's natural sons fernando and fadrique led an 800-knight detachment towards the right and captured a small bridge, pushing back the 2,500 cavalry defending it. alfonso reinforced them with 1,500 more knights and the salado was successfully crossed.