O'Dwyer ready to take Hurdle running on Hardy

08/03/2005 - 08:15:31
Conor O’Dwyer has revealed he would be prepared to repeat last year’s successful tactics of making all the running on Hardy Eustace in the Smurfit Champion Hurdle.

Last March, wearing blinkers for the first time, the Dessie Hughes-trained gelding was never headed as he took the Cheltenham showpiece by five lengths from Rooster Booster.

“If there’s a strong pace we can sit in. If there is no pace, like last year, we can go on. It’s a huge asset to have that you are not kept to riding the one way,” O’Dwyer told At The Races.

“It’s great to be able to go to the start and see where the pace is going to be.

“It doesn’t look as if there will be a confirmed front-runner in there, so I guess if we have to go on, there’s no problem doing that.”