Pic D’Orhy wins Marsh Chase at Grand National meeting

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Pic D’Orhy held off Fakir D’oudairies to win the Marsh Chase, handing trainer Paul Nicholls his first winner of this year’s Grand National meeting at Aintree. With Harry Cobden aboard, Pic D’Orhy moved to the front between the final two obstacles and soon put daylight between himself and his rivals. The win denied Fakir D’oudairies a third straight victory in the two-and-a-half-mile contest. Pic D’Orhy crossed the line with a winning margin of four and a quarter lengths. Earlier, Rachael Blackmore steered Inthepocket to victory 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 main event, Sam Twiston-Davies claimed victory on 20-1 chance Bill Baxter.