Oakler to keep up Crowley run

After the rarified, if rainsodden, air of Derby weekend at the Curragh, it's back to the bread and butter of a Cork evening meeting. Nevertheless, with the Killarney and Galway festivals looming there will be interest in some familiar faces in the Low Low Handicap Chase.

The likes of Derrymoyle, Treble Bob and Solvang are likely to have the Galway Plate as a target so how they get on in this three mile contest will be informative. The Plate is still a month away though and tonight it could that Oakler is the one to be on.

The consistent eight-year-old has done well for newly established trainer Frances Crowley, winning a valuable race at Tramore at the start of the month and following up with a seven-length second to An Oon Iss An Owl over this evening's course and distance.

Garrett Cotter again takes the ride and should be able to confirm form with the likes of Riszard. The talented Solvang got a confidence boost with an easy success at Roscommon recently and despite topweight should go close but Oakler is preferred.

The most valuable contest on the card is the concluding mares bumper where the choice is the Navan winner Laser Ride.

Paul Moloney's mount came from a fair way back to lead two furlongs out at the Co Meath track and stayed on strongly to beat Victor Boy and Last Edition. There are a number of talented types against her including the Wexford winner Tell The Country and Squaw Winter who won at Ballinrobe but Laser Ride looks capable of taking care of them.

Conor O'Dwyer has two rides tonight including Fabriano in the novices chase. One man who hopes it will be an uneventful evening for O'Dwyer is the former British rally car champion Gwyndaf Evans, for whom O'Dwyer will act as co-driver in next Saturday's Lurgan Park Rally. O'Dwyer is following in the footsteps of his friend Richard Dunwoody who also has a passion for motorsports.

"It's a great honour to drive with Gwyndaf. I will certainly be starting at the deep end but if you're going to do something like this you might as well start at the top!" O'Dwyer said yesterday.

Fabriano is unlikely to go quite as quickly and Norman Williamson's mount Eagle Vail is preferred while in the opening nine furlong handicap, Michael Grassick's Final Reminder could be coming into form at the right time.

Final Reminder's jockey Eddie Ahern is also the pick in the seven furlong handicap where he rides Jay And-A for Michael Halford.