ALL eyes were on the birthday boy but it was Chris Holder who stole the show at Wimborne Road.

Darcy Ward, deservedly the centre of attention in recent weeks, was the talk of the town as he prepared to line up for Pirates on his 19th birthday.

Ward had 24 hours earlier done little to quell the hype surrounding him after he claimed no fewer than three victories over world champion Tomasz Gollob for his Swedish club.

Last night, the world under-21 king did his burgeoning reputation no harm whatsoever with an eight-point haul that would have been greater but for a mechanical problem.

But if the Pirates public were discussing Ward on their way into the stadium, they must have been waxing lyrical about his composed compatriot as they headed for the exits wearing wide grins.

Holder was irrepressible. Lakeside had no answer to the GP contender as he secured the most majestic of maximums.

While this dominant display from Pirates was about more than one rider, it was Holder who set the tone for the commanding performance that continued the hosts’ good start to the campaign.

And with skipper Davey Watt rejuvenated, hard man Jason Doyle battling through the pain barrier and Renat Gafurov solid as a rock, the result was never in doubt.

After Elite League Pairs champions Holder and Ward had paraded the trophy prior to tapes-up, Pirates underlined their credentials for the ultimate prize.

Lakeside made a far-from-ideal opening when skipper Lee Richardson suffered a mechanical problem at the start line, forcing Stuart Robson to stand in.

And Pirates did not need a second invitation to capitalise as Holder and Gafurov secured a serene maximum. The Russian got off to a flyer and with Poole’s number one cruising through on the penultimate lap, the points were safely pocketed.

Dennis Andersson followed up with a comfortable win of his own, although the hosts missed out on the chance of a 4-2 when Christian Hefenbrock took a tumble.

It continued to be one-way traffic as Ward stormed to victory in a rapid time, with Doyle, bravely back in the saddle just days after dislocating his shoulder, showing grit to secure a 5-1.

Something special was required to follow that perfor mance but it came in heat four courtesy of Hefenbrock and Watt, who produced the race of the night.

Hefenbrock got out in front before Peter Ljung edged ahead, only for the persistent Pirates reserve to reclaim pole position after a ding-dong battle. If that was not enough to get the home fans on their feet, Watt’s terrific burst from last to second certainly was as Pirates spectacularly opened up an 18-6 advantage.

Ward looked like he had done all the hard work when, having been slow out of the traps, he blasted from third to first in heat five. But after running wide, he appeared to suffer a mechanical issue, allowing Richardson and Kauko Nieminen to hit back in some style.

But the Lakeside revival was brief as Pirates immediately rediscovered their golden touch thanks to Holder. Ably assisted by Gafurov, the 23-year-old never looked troubled as he roared clear.

Not to be outdone, Watt was next to chip in. With Adam Shields hunting double points as a tactical rider, the Pirates captain minimised the damage by taking the chequered flag with time to spare.

Honours were even when Robson defiantly held off Gafurov and Hefenbrock, before Doyle and Ward combined brilliantly. Doyle darted through the middle of fast-starting Ljung and Robert Mear to take the lead before Ward compounded Lakeside’s woes by firing up the inside to claim a 5-1.

For the third time of the evening, Holder and his reliable team-mate Gafurov claimed top marks.

Watt, looking back to his best, then defied Lakeside’s second double-points bid as he powered away from Richardson.

With Pirates now 18 points clear, the game was well and truly up for the visitors.

And Ward grabbed his second success before Holder made it four from four with a tapes-to-flag win.

Doyle led Andersson to the Dorset outfit’s seventh 5-1 in 14 heats.

Rewarded for his efforts alongside Holder, Gafurov was named in the nominated final heat. The race did not go to plan for the 28-year-old as he failed to catch Richardson and Shields and finished last.

But it was fitting that Holder had the final say to get the party started.

While the trailing trio battled for minor points, the Aussie marched clear of the field to bring down the curtain in familiar fashion.

Pirates 58: 1 Chris Holder (3-3-3-3-3) 15, 2 Renat Gafurov (2*-2*-2-2*-0) 8+3, 3 Darcy Ward (3-0-2*-3) 8+1, 4 Jason Doyle (2*-1-3-3) 9+1, 5 Davey Watt (2*-3-3-0) 8+1, 6 Dennis Andersson (3-0-1-2*) 6+1, 7 Christian Hefenbrock (0-3-1*-0) 4+1. Team manager: Neil Middleditch.

Hammers 36: 1 Lee Richardson (3-4^-2-2) 11, 2 Kauko Nieminen (1-2*-0-0) 3+1, 3 Adam Shields (1-4^-0-1*-1*) 7+2, 4 Piotr Swiderski (0-1*-1-1) 3+1, 5 Peter Ljung (1-1-1-1*) 4+1, 6 Robert Mear (1*-0-0-2) 3+1, 7 Stuart Robson (0-2-0-3-0) 5. Team manager: Jon Cook.

Referee: Daniel Holt League points: Pirates 3 Hammers 0 Ht 1: Holder, Gafurov, Nieminen, Robson, 58.78 (5-1) Ht 2: Andersson, Robson, Mear, Hefenbrock, 60.13 (8-4) Ht 3: Ward, Doyle, Shields, Swiderski, 58.44 (13-5) Ht 4: Hefenbrock, Watt, Ljung, Robson, 60.12 (18-6) Ht 5: Richardson, Nieminen, Doyle, Ward (retired), 60.59 (19-11) Ht 6: Holder, Gafurov, Ljung, Mear, 59.47 (24-12) Ht 7: Watt, Shields (tactical rider, double points), Swiderski, Andersson, 59.97 (27-17) Ht 8: Robson, Gafurov, Hefenbrock, Nieminen, 60.35 (30-20) Ht 9: Doyle, Ward, Ljung, Mear, 60.57 (35-21) Ht 10: Holder, Gafurov, Swiderski, Shields, 59.40 (40-22) Ht 11: Watt, Richardson (tactical rider, double points), Andersson, Nieminen, 59.97 (44-26) Ht 12: Ward, Mear, Shields, Hefenbrock, 60.00 (47-29) Ht 13: Holder, Richardson, Ljung, Watt, 59.62 (50-32) Ht 14: Doyle, Andersson, Swiderski, Robson, 61.56 (55-33) Ht 15: Holder, Richardson, Shields, Gafurov, 60.19 (58-36) Last night’s other result: King’s Lynn 43 Eastbourne 46.