Leader wins battle of the Grey's at The Junction In a race that developed into a battle between two grey horses in the last furlong, it was the Joseph Murphy trained Grey Leader who landed the Great National Ballykisteen Golf Hotel Handicap at Tipperary. Tracking the pace in the early stages under Ben Coen, the 12/1 outsider came through to head Titanium entering the straight. Coming over to the stands side two furlongs from home, Grey Leader was soon chased by race favourite and fellow grey Akecheta. However, despite the best efforts of Seamie Heffernan on the latter, Grey Leader galloped on well to score by three-and-a-quarter lengths. Joseph Murphy said: “I’m delighted with both horses (Immutable, third), and the other fella probably wants further. The ground suits both of them and that fella (Grey Leader) has a little issue with his knees, so the soft ground helped a lot. “When he travels well like that, he can be a very good horse on his day. He’s in the sales and whether he goes or not we’ll have to discuss it with the owner (Tony Auld).” Additional reporting by Alan Magee.
