By Emma Berry
NEWMARKET, UK — Colin Keane, Juddmonte's newly retained jockey, has wasted no time in familiarising himself with one of his leading mounts for Royal Ascot and was in Newmarket on Wednesday morning to ride Lead Artist for the first time ahead of Tuesday's Queen Anne Stakes.
The four-year-old son of Dubawi, last seen winning the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury, stretched out on the July Course in company with Wathnan Racing's Torito (Kingman) and Kieran O'Neill. The latter is an intended runner in the Wolferton Stakes.
“He was very good in the Lockinge,” Keane said after debriefing trainers John and Thady Gosden on the morning's exercise. “He feels like a very straightforward horse, a good mover who feels fit and well. I'm looking forward to next week.”
There will be no easing-in period for Keane at this high point in the season, with Juddmonte's team for Royal Ascot set to include the Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Field Of Gold (Kingman), who could take on fellow Juddmonte runners Jonquil (Lope De Vega) and Windlord (Dubawi) in a tantalising line-up for the St James's Palace Stakes which could see a rematch with Ruling Court (Justify). Group 1 winners Kalpana (Study Of Man) and Babouche (Kodiac) are also entered for the Prince Of Wales's Stakes and Commonwealth Cup respectively.
Keane has the mental boost of having already won a Classic on the Gosden-trained Field Of Gold. “A stiff mile will suit him well,” he said. “He's growing up in his races and feels very relaxed. I couldn't have been more happy with what he did.”
The six-time champion jockey in Ireland, Keane describes hearing the news that he was to be offered the job as a “pinch yourself moment”.
He added, “When the call came, I had to double-check that it was Barry [Mahon] on the other end of the phone! When you get those opportunities, you have to take them.
“I'll be over and back from Ireland and maybe having the odd day in France. I'll be kept busy, that's for sure.
“I'm going to have to get around the place and get to know people, get to know the horses and get used to them.”
Keane has long been attached to Ger Lyons's Glenburnie Stables, which has provided him with Classic victories aboard Siskin (for Juddmonte) and Even So, as well as a Breeders' Cup triumph last season with Magnum Force.
“If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be on the stage we've got to,” he says of Lyons, a vocal champion of Keane's talents. “I was with him from when I was an apprentice, I went straight there from my father's. Look, he has backed me 100 per cent. He's never hidden that and I'm very fortunate. I wouldn't be where I am without him.”
Pride of place in the family album, however, may well go to the winner's photo from last year's Duke of Edinburgh Stakes at the royal meeting, after Keane had stormed to success on Crystal Black (Teofilo), trained by his father, Gerry.
“That was a massive day, absolutely massive,” he recalls. “We'd bought him for not much money from the Horses-in-Training Sale for a great bunch of people. It was fairytale stuff for everyone involved.”
For Keane, the fairytale has evolved into one of the most prized jobs in racing, following such names as Pat Eddery and Richard Hughes as Juddmonte's number one jockey. He first wrested the Irish title from the former nine-time champion Pat Smullen in 2017 and, since 2020, it has been Keane's alone. Whether he can ever match the 13 championships accrued by Mick Kinane remains to be seen, and the modest Keane laughs off the idea that he has been dubbed 'Baby Kinane'.
“I think Pat and Ger [Lyons] came up with it – ah sure, it's not a bad nickname to have. But we try to keep it relaxed as possible and get the job done.”
Words to live by, especially when it comes to the pressure cooker that is Royal Ascot.
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