Buddy Marvel takes well to hurdling

Buddy Marvel made the transition to hurdling with the minimum of fuss at a wet and sparsely attended Fairyhouse yesterday when he justified odds-on favouritism under Conor O'Dwyer in The Ward Three-Year-Old Hurdle.

Despite a slight mistake at the first, Conor O'Dwyer was always travelling smoothly on the John McLoughlin-owned and trained Law Society colt before asserting authority before the penultimate flight to run out hard held from En-Jay-Bee by a snug 3 1/2 lengths.

"He's a lovely horse and he may come back here on the 29th of this month for a £10,000 winners' race before going on to the Dennys Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown over Christmas. He will go on then and contest the Triumph hurdle," said the Curragh handler.

He went on: "I only schooled him over hurdles for the first time after he came back from his race in Newbury," a Group Three contest in which he finished seventh to Kaliana on the 25th of last month. The horse could be sold in the immediate future.

Conor O'Dwyer completed a double in the penultimate Warrenstown Handicap when he partnered the Arthur Moore-trained Regency Rake to land some nice wagers. Supported from 7 to 1 down to 5 to 1, the gamble of the race came to join Keal Ryan approaching the last, and, despite an untidy jump, battled on gamely to put his head in front in the final hundred yards.

Brief Sentiment edged away from stable companion Crystal Wind and Dermot Hogan in the opening Kilbride EBF Maiden to provide Stephen Craine with his twenty-third winner of the season. "I thought they'd be first and second coming here," was the reaction of Curragh handler, Kevin Prendergast as he welcomed the Brief Truce filly into the winners' enclosure.

A Prendergast double was foiled in the next when Omy Dancer was headed close home by Frank Berry's Loughmogue which provided Aisa Harford (18), a graduate of RACE who hails from Clondalkin, with his first success in the plate. Tommy Treacy stood himself down for the remainder of the afternoon after he suffered a fall from the warm favourite, Taoibhin in the Curragha Maiden.

Victory in the two-and-a-half mile contest went to the Mouse Morris-trained Thatswhatithought which battled back gamely, after coming under pressure before the turn-in, under a determined ride from David Casey.