Pic D’Orhy denied Fakir D’oudairies a third successive Marsh Chase win on day two of the Grand National meeting at Aintree.
The 4-1 shot was aimed at this race by trainer Paul Nicholls, and jockey Harry Cobden produced a superb ride.
Fakir D’oudairies tried to challenge but he had too much to do and finished four and a quarter lengths back.
Earlier, Rachael Blackmore guided Inthepocket to a first Grade One success in the Top Novices’ Hurdle.
And in the Topham Chase, the first chance this year for professional jockeys to see the Grand National fences before Saturday’s big race, Sam Twiston-Davies claimed victory on 20-1 chance Bill Baxter for trainer Warren Greatrex.
Nicholls had opted not to enter Pic D’Orhy in last month’s Cheltenham Festival and he looked fresh throughout the two miles and four furlongs.
After tracking the pacesetting Minella Drama, Cobden moved to the front between the final two fences and soon put daylight between himself and his rivals.
“This horse is good on a flat track and this was a race we wanted to win with him,” Nicholls told ITV Racing.
“This track suits him really well. He is a much-improved horse this year and Harry gave him a great ride.”
Cobden, who will ride the Gordon Elliott-trained Coko Beach in the Grand National, added: “He’s become a very good jumper but he didn’t use to be. I got three really bad falls off him but he’s learned.
“We didn’t get racing too early and after the second-last I asked him to go and win his race. I was going to the last on a really long stride – I don’t normally ask for that off him so I gave him a flick to remind him and it worked.”
Blackmore’s win on 3-1 favourite Inthepocket, trained by Henry de Bromhead and owned by JP McManus, was all the more notable given she dropped her stick on the run-in.
“I was always happy and if anything I got carried into it a bit too soon because it is a long way to the line from the back of the last,” she said.
“Dropping my stick didn’t help either, but we got away with it.”
After a flurry of bets, Blackmore is set to go off as favourite to land a second Grand National on Saturday with Ain’t That A Shame.
‘It means everything’ – Greatrex
The wet weather arrived in time for Bill Baxter who provided a welcome success for Greatrex, with his biggest win for three years.
His yard was rocked by the deaths of stable staff Michael Pitt in July 2021 and David Thompson in February 2022.
“I can’t believe it, it means everything,” said Greatrex. “When you’re on a crest of a wave and everything is going well – we were training Grade One winners in England and Ireland – and you hit a low, it’s tough. We lost the two lads and that hurt and still hurts now.
“We’re a great team and we’ve got some nice young horses, and hopefully this is the start and will open the gates.”
