The highly-rated Buddy Marvel is set to cross swords with Champion Hurdle contender Grey Shot at Sandown on Saturday. Connections of Buddy Marvel confirmed yesterday that they are keen to pitch the ex-John McLoughlin-trained gelding into the Grade One Sun `King Of The Punters' Tolworth Hurdle.
Buddy Marvel, owned by Robert Ogden, is also entered for the Fairlawne Juvenile Novices' Hurdle on the same card. But Ogden's racing manager Barry Simpson said: "Having discussed things with Mr Ogden at the moment we would favour the Tolworth Hurdle as the conditions of the race with the weight allowance would be in our favour.
"It was always the plan to go for one of the Sandown races before going to Cheltenham at the end of the month (for the Wragge and Co Finesse Hurdle)."
Ogden's retained jockey Paul Carberry returns to action on Friday after completing a 10-day suspension, so he will be on board at Sandown the following day.
A winner over hurdles at Fairyhouse and Cork in November, Buddy Marvel, now trained by Oliver Sherwood, stretched his unbeaten sequence to three - and made a winning debut in Britain - with a facile success at Lingfield last month.
He is already among the leading candidates for the Elite Racing Club Triumph, Hurdle, with William Hill quoting him joint third favourite at 16 to 1.