Murphy to bide his time with Impervious

Colm Murphy has decided against running burgeoning chasing star Impervious at Leopardstown on Boxing Day as he does not want to back the mare up too quickly.

Impervious won a Grade Three mares’ novice hurdle at Down Royal on the third run of her career in October last year.

She progressed into a smart hurdler and was beaten just seven lengths by Love Envoi in the Grade Two Dawn Run Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

The intention was always to go chasing and the six-year-old has taken to the bigger obstacles with aplomb, winning at Wexford on her return in October, before following up over an extended two miles in a Grade Two at Cork earlier this month.

Murphy wants to bring her along at a steady pace, however, and said: “She is very good, but she won’t run over Christmas. I’m not 100 per cent certain where she will go next.

“There is a race at Thurles or at the Dublin Racing Festival – she will run in one or the other, but saying that, we’re good and she’s happy.

“She seems to go well fresh. We just didn’t want to back her up again too quickly, that’s the only reason why.”

Murphy, who saddled the likes of Champion Hurdle Brave Inca to 10 top-class hurdle victories and Big Zeb to half a dozen Grade One victories, initially retired from the training ranks in 2016, but after working for the Turf Club and IHRB, took out a licence again in May 2019.

He now appears to have another exciting prospect on his hands and has the Cheltenham Festival in his sights.

“It’s nice to have a good one and it would be nice to have a few more nice horses,” he added.

“There is only one Cheltenham, but there are loads of options and plenty of nice mares’ chases. She’d have to carry a penalty in a lot of them, but it is a nice problem to have.”