That tough race might just have taken the edge off him, whereas Comply Or Die looks the sort of rugged battler who should relish this searching test of stamina.
Martin Pipe is involved in a sustained battle for the trainer's title with Cornish Rebel's handler Paul Nicholls.
Victory in this £120,000 contest would go a long way to sealing it for him, and Comply Or Die lines up with a fine novice campaign behind him.
Accurate jumping was the hallmark of his three wins at Bangor, Wincanton and Cheltenham, and a crashing fall in the Newbury race won by Cornish Rebel in November clearly hasn't left a mark judged by his performance in the SunAlliance.
Timmy Murphy had Comply Or Die close to the pace from the off at Cheltenham and tried to draw the sting out of his rivals from a mile out.
Granted, he couldn't quite match the finishing speed of Trabolgan up the hill, but he galloped on gamely to draw three lengths clear of Cornish Rebel with last week's Aintree winner Like-A-Butterfly back in fifth.
Pipe also saddles Stormez, Control Man and Iris Bleu tomorrow, though none of them can be backed without reservations based on their recent form.
Nicholls supplies a powerful second string to Cornish Rebel in the progressive Colourful Life, while there are plenty of dangerous looking rivals from other yards who warrant a mention.
Gold Cup runner-up Take The Stand will need to be at his very best to defy an official mark of 163 after getting no further than halfway at Aintree last week, while Chives came right back to form behind Kelami at Cheltenham and promises to be suited by this step up to an extended four miles.
Longshanks, Philson Run, Joes Edge and Malek all come into the race on top of their game, but Comply Or Die gets the vote.
With only one run behind him since November he's a fresh horse compared to most of his rivals.
He's tough and reliable, and at 8-1 or thereabouts he looks sound each way value to give Pipe the breathing space he needs to hold off the relentless challenge of his arch rival Nicholls.
