CHRIS Holder produced one of those magical moments that will live long in the memory as Pirates took a giant step towards prising the Knockout Cup away from holders Coventry last night.

The Aussie ace has already pulled off some amazing tricks at Wimborne Road this season.

None more so than when he found a way past Chris Harris on the last bend in the final race of the original semi-final, second leg, to save Poole from a shock cup exit against Bees three weeks ago.

But Holder outdid himself in fantastic fashion last night to win an elongated heat 10 after it had taken four starts to complete a dramatic race.

It was that man Harris who was on the wrong end of some brilliant Holder riding again.

The Brit had already inadvertently sent Holder and Magnus Zetterstrom into the air fence on the first bend, with both Pirates, thankfully, emerging unscathed during the first three attempts to get the race under way.

So he was already being viewed as the villain by a lot of Pirates supporters.

Fourth time out, Harris, unbeaten until then, hit the front coming off the second bend as he overtook early leader Zetterstrom.

Then, completely out of the blue, Holder came from nowhere, majestically sweeping from third to first after picking up an astonishing amount of drive down the inside of the back straight.

It was a top quality manoeuvre, but the Aussie still needed to keep the throttle on hard to hold Harris back as they went round the third and fourth corners shoulder to shoulder.

Showing a rare ruthless streak, Holder forced Harris extremely wide before zipping down the finish straight for the first time in front.

It was a spectacular blast that epitomised Pirates' fighting spirit, and showed how determined they were to make up for their 45-45 home draw against Bees on August 13.

Pirates knew they were fortunate not to bow out of the cup then.

It was a different story in Dorset last night.

Poole's one-to-seven were far too strong for Coventry to handle, even with Freddie Eriksson enduring an off-key evening.

While Pirates fired on almost all cylinders, Bees - who had provided five different heat winners at Wimborne Road three weeks ago - were suddenly just a two-man team.

Expected to provide much tougher opposition, only Hans Andersen and Harris, who boasted 14 points apiece, worried Pirates in this replay.

With just Ben Barker giving any sort of worthwhile support, and Oliver Allen having to withdraw with an injured wrist following a nasty self-inflicted heat nine tumble, Bees could not repeat their August 13 heroics.

For that, big praise must go to Holder and Bjarne Pedersen, who looked superb as they piled up double figure returns.

Zetterstrom - who'd failed to score in the first tie - Adam Skornicki, Davey Watt and Daniel Davidsson were all on top form again.

Davidsson so much so that it's hard to remember when he wasn't passing riders with such ease from the back - something he was not renowned for before this term.

With a 20-point lead, surely Pirates can hang on this time following their Craven Shield debacle at Coventry earlier this season.

If they do, the Dorset club, now firmly back in the winning groove, must fancy their chances of toppling Eastbourne in the final.