Red-letter day for Lyons and Keane as Siskin secures Guineas glory

GER LYONS fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming a Classicwinning trainer with an ice-cool ride from Colin Keane guiding Siskin (2/1 favourite) to Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas glory and thwarting the Ballydoyle battalion.

With Aidan O’Brien training six of the 11 runners, the odds were stacked against Lyons’ stable star in yesterday’s Curragh Classic but a nerveless Keane calmly negotiated plenty of traffic in the home straight before scoring impressively by a length and three quarters from Vatican City (14/1).

Lyons is rarely caught for words but the Meath trainer had to choke back the tears on a career-defining day before lauding the guts and bravery shown by the former Irish champion jockey as Siskin held off a trio of O’Brien runners with ease.

“It means everything, it means the world, it means 30 years’ hard graft for everybody. To win a Guineas was always my number one goal and hopefully it’s the first of many,” a beaming Lyons said.

“It’s never over until it’s over and full credit to Colin Keane because he was out there on his own against a football team and him and the horse got it right. The horse is a legend, he bailed him out.

“But you don’t get a Guineas handed to you and he had to win it and the two of them were men enough and they stood up when it was needed. Colin is the best there is at the minute and he’s only a kid.

“I remember Johnny Murtagh used to ride plenty for me and I would leg him up, and always had faith I was in good hands, and I have the same feeling with Colin.”

Siskin remains unbeaten after five starts with Prince Khalid Abdullah’s exciting three-year-old set to take on the best milers around throughout the summer, while it was also a redletter day for Trim native Keane on “a horse of dreams”.

The 25-year-old’s career in the saddle continues to go from strength to strength and he feels “the sky’s the limit” for the son of First Defence after disposing of a top-class field.

“Ger told me to ride him like the best horse in the race. We had to sit and suffer as the race unfolded hoping for the gaps to appear and thankfully they did at the right time and I had the horse to quicken up and put the race to bed. He just keeps improving,” Keane said.

Another jockey with a huge future is 18-year-old Shane Crosse and he continued his rapid rise through the ranks when bagging a 39/1 double for Joseph O’Brien, spearheaded by the impressive victory of Crossfirehurricane (7/1) in the Group Three Gallinule Stakes.

The unbeaten Kitten’s Joy colt is likely to head back to the Kildare track later this summer for The Tattersalls Irish Gold Cup, while Crosse also landed an earlier maiden aboard Galileo Chrome (4/1).

Jessica Harrington and Shane Foley continued their blistering form when Leo De Fury (6/1) landed the concluding Group Two Mooresbridge Stakes on an evening behind closed doors where Aidan O’Brien didn’t dominate as expected.

The Ballydoyle maestro had just one winner but Admiral Nelson (5/1) gained plenty of fans with an impressive maiden win under Wayne Lordan with next week’s Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot his next target.