Le Beau Bai back on form at Carlisle

Le Beau Bai was pulled up in the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham on Wednesday but made a quick return to the fray when scoring at Carlisle today.

Richard Lee's six-year-old gained his fourth success of the season in the Lloyd Motor Group Novices' Chase under conditional Charlie Poste.

Sent into the lead between the last two fences, the 5-2 chance ploughed through the mud to score by five lengths from Mount Sandel.

Lee explained: "He was pulled up in the four-miler on Wednesday and we were not going to declare him for this.

"But when I was tracking the decs on Friday morning, there was only one horse in at 9.55am - though another two came in after.

"It is a £10,000 race so I thought I had better put him in and if we felt he was all right when we got here, then we would let him run - it has all worked out.

"He is only a pony, but he jumps for fun.

"If the ground does not stay soft, though, that will be it for the season - he has done us proud."

Selkirk permit-holder Rayson Nixon set a personal-best score when Norminster held on under conditional Fearghal Davis in a thrilling finish to the News And Star Novices' Handicap Chase.

The 9-4 favourite took up the running after jumping the penultimate fence and looked to have things in safe-keeping at the last - but began to tire on the run-in.

With Sue Smith's pair Wee George and Work Boy staying on, the post came just in time as Davis' mount had only a neck and half a length to spare respectively.

Nixon, who has held a permit "on and off" for 40 years and combines training with farming 900 acres, said: "That is our eighth winner - the most we have had in a season - and Carlisle is a good place to have it."