First-time blinkers helps Willow win

The Joe Murphy trained Grey Willow showed the benefit of the application of first-time blinkers when landing the Listowel Arms Handicap at Listowel today, scoring under jockey Gary Carroll.

The daughter of Zebedee, bought for E42,000 as a yearling but unsuccessful in her first five races, today went clear of her rivals in the straight and in the end stayed on well for a four and a quarter lengths win over Galtymore

Murphy, whose leading light and Galway Hurdle runner-up Swamp Fox lines out at the venue tomorrow, later commented “we liked her a lot all the time but were very disappointed with her on her last couple of runs but in the last three weeks she has come back to herself.

“She is a big tall filly who just needed that bit of time and Gary (Carroll) said the blinkers just sharpened her up and that a stiff mile or 1m1f is her trip and she loved the ground.

“She’s a model of a filly to look at and I think with the size she has, I think she could do anything; I thought she wouldn’t be at her best until she was four.”