The Philip Rothwell trained Ricky Langford exploited his lower mark over flights when just doing enough to last home under Cian Quirke in the Fermoy Handicap Hurdle at Cork.

A dual winner over fences earlier in his career, the nine-year-old won off a reduced mark when returned to hurdles at Wexford last month but was unable to follow up in Killarney.

Held up at the rear of the 11 runner field here, Quirke moved his mount closer early in the straight, weaving his way through rivals to come with a well timed challenge to lead at the second last.

However, he then faced a real battle from eventual runner-up Sequoiaspirit who kept on strongly up the inside rail all the way to the post. At the line, only a short head separated the pair with the Rothwell runner just getting the verdict.

Cian Quirke: “I cantered into it. We jumped the fourth last and actually got pushed out for room coming around the bend. It was no harm because I was going to get there too soon.

“We missed the last but he’s kept on well.”

Additional reporting by Alan Magee