Siskin's name in lights once again for Lyons family

The name of Siskin Lodge as a consignor might have rung a few bells at last week’s Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale, particularly as it was responsible for one of the event’s notable pinhooks.

Kerri Lyons, whose father Ger and partner Colin Keane had a famous Classic breakthrough when Siskin won the Irish 2,000 Guineas a couple of years ago, became briefly reluctant to jinx their nascent operation near Trim with expectation, but it is proving much more of a blessing so far.

Following on from a couple of other colts who made a profit from a small outlay as foals at last year’s Goffs Sportsman’s Sale, Lyons took a higher profile by selling a filly by first-season sire Calyx for €70,000 to Mick Flanagan. The half-sister to stakes-placed Dense Star had been picked up for 38,000gns at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale.

The brilliant Siskin was the influence for Kerri Lyons and Colin Keane's new homeCredit: Caroline Norris (racingpost.com/photos)

Although hoped-for updates from older siblings did not materialise, Lyons felt that her appearance was enough to attract some interest on the sales ground.

"We knew she was a nice filly, you never really know if they’re going to stand out but she was in the top ten of fillies on both days, so the plan worked out for us in the end," she said.

"I thought I’d be able to pick up two or three from the foal sales at Goffs, but everything was making above my valuations and I didn’t know if I’d get much of a return for them.

"It was a last-minute plan to go to Tattersalls UK; again I had plenty on the list but going above my valuations. I loved the Calyx filly's attitude, she showed so well. She wasn’t the biggest filly foal at the time but she grew enough in the time I had her, so it was perfect."

The 27-year-old has long been an important spoke in the wheel at her father’s thriving Glenburnie Stables, a few minutes away from her new home in County Meath, particularly when sales seasons come around.

She has spent time shadowing a number of industry figures and has an especially close link with top judges Roger Marley and John Cullinan from Church Farm & Horse Park Stud.

"I was at Doncaster one day with John Cullinan, Colin and I had just moved into our house, we had put in some facilities but I’d never done yearling prep before," she said.

"I said to John, 'You might think I'm mad but I really want to pinhook a foal and do it myself'. From that day on he pretty much held my hand, helped me understand what to look for from a foal. He said in the first year have a small budget and do it as a learn as you go.

"I bought two relatively cheap horses. My schoolfriend Stephanie O’Callaghan moved in for the two months of prep, we got a nice throw from the two of them from a low budget.

"Our other friend Lorna Chow wanted to get involved and we bought the Calyx filly, Cally we called her. Colin helps me when he gets the time but luckily enough I was able to do her pretty much myself, she was such a delight to work with."

Now that Cally is set to go into training with Gavin Cromwell, for whom regular Glenburnie visitor Gary Carroll rides, Lyons intends to be "annoying him for all the updates about her".

There are also hopes for a quiet expansion of pinhooking and further growth in the quality of their set-up in the near future.

"I’m not taking it for granted, I know it’s not as easy as it comes across on our results," she insisted.

"You have to see what you can improve and what you can’t improve, but you also either like them or you don’t. It’s about what they’re actually going to look like in a year’s time."

Lyons reveals she had a few double-takes from curious buyers wondering what she was doing sitting outside a filly’s box at Fairyhouse rather than being out scouting for talent with her father, who climbed to the highest echelon of Ireland's training ranks partly through making astute signings that he could sell on once they had shown ability on the track.

Following their latest result, though, it seems as if Siskin Lodge's brand is beginning to stand out for itself.

"We bought the place in 2019, that was the year Colin and Dad won their first domestic Group 1 in the Phoenix Stakes," said Lyons.

"We had it in our heads to name it after Siskin, then he went up in the stalls at Newmarket [before the Middle Park] that year so we were thinking, 'Okay, take a pause and see what happens'.

"Then when he went and won the Guineas, we thought we could safely say this place is called Siskin Lodge! It’s nice that the name lives on as we’ve got great memories of the horse, he’s important to me and to Colin."

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