DAL Harraild gave weight and a comprehensive beating to his rivals in the Grand Cup at York on Saturday.

The William Haggas-trained four-year-old was burdened with a penalty for winning a Listed prize at Newmarket last autumn and as a result had to concede 3lb to each of his nine opponents on the Knavesmire.

After having blown away the cobwebs with a creditable comeback effort in last month's John Porter Stakes at Newbury, Dal Harraild was a 3-1 joint-favourite for his latest assignment and dual champion jockey Paul Hanagan was content to bide his time in the rain-softened ground.

Clever Cookie, the other 3-1 joint-favourite and winner of this prize in 2014 and 2015, disputed the running with Harrison, but dropped away tamely early in the home straight.

Harrison stuck to his guns for a little longer, but had no answer when Dal Harraild was produced with his challenge as the Newmarket raider extended impressively to score by three and a half lengths.

Nakeeta finishing strongly to fill the runner-up spot, while Seamour just beat Harrison to third place.

Brian Ellison will have been delighted with Seamour's return.

The six-year-old was making his seasonal reappearance on the Knavesmire and Ellison has made no secret of how much he would love to win the Northumberland Plate as a north-east native.

Agonisingly second last year when he looked for all the world to have the race in the bag, he is 5lb higher now but shaped with a good deal of promise in third behind the impressive Dal Harraild and can be expected to tighten up for the run.

* DETERIORATING conditions could not stop Churchill becoming the fourth Ballydoyle inmate to complete the 2000 Guineas double at the Curragh on Saturday.

Last season's champion juvenile justified the hype when he claimed Classic glory on his seasonal reappearance at Newmarket three weeks ago and was a prohibitively priced 4-9 favourite to follow up back on home soil in the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas.

It was not completely plain sailing in the rain-softened ground, but his class shone through in the closing stages as Aidan O'Brien's relentless colt powered two and a half lengths clear in the hands of Ryan Moore.

Moore, a man of few words, was unusually ebullient in his post-race assessment.

He said: "I think he's a very talented horse, he does everything you want him to do as a jockey and he ticks all the boxes.

"When you sit on him, there's a lot of power underneath you and he never misses a beat. I think he's a very special horse."

O'Brien was winning the race for the 11th time and has now trained seven of the last 10 winners of the first Classic of the Irish season.

"He's a great horse and we're delighted with him," said the trainer. "He sleeps, he relaxes and he quickens. He's a very exciting horse.

"Coming here we were thinking we'd go from here to Ascot and he'll probably go for the St James's Palace Stakes.

"He'd have no problem stepping up to 10 furlongs later in the year. He's so relaxed and chilled."

Jessica Harrington's Brother Bear (2-1 favourite) is a general 6-1 favourite for the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot after he kept his unbeaten record intact in the Marble Hill Stakes.

Tom Hogan's remarkable veteran Gordon Lord Byron (20-1) bagged another big win in the Greenlands Stakes, while Andrew Slattery's star mare Creggs Pipes (3-1) dominated from the front in the Lanwades Stud Stakes.

The best of the British action came from Haydock, where trainer Clive Cox and jockey Adam Kirby completed a big-race double.

Priceless (11-2) is bound for the King's Stand in Berkshire next month after winning the Temple Stakes, but it was the performance of her stable companion Harry Angel in the preceding Sandy Lane Stakes that really set pulses racing.

The 5-6 favourite oozed class as he made much of the running and passed the post four and a half lengths clear of Second Thought.