Keane: 'It would mean the world to me to provide Ger with an Irish Group 1'

Colin Keane cannot wait to be reunited with Siskin in the Keeneland Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh on Friday night as the former Irish champion is keen to repay Ger Lyons for the faith he has shown in him by providing the trainer with a first Group 1 in Ireland.

Keane has been a big part of the Lyons team since he was a teenager and took over as stable jockey when he was just 17 and still an apprentice.

The pair have teamed up for 19 Group winners together but are still searching for that elusive Group 1 together. Could all that change on Friday with Siskin, who is unbeaten in three starts and stormed clear to win the Railway Stakes on his last visit to the Curragh?

"I'm really looking forward to Siskin on Friday night. He seems to be training well and came out of his last run well so, touch wood, he can stay in one piece between now and Friday," beamed Keane.

He added: "It would mean the world to me to provide Ger [Lyons] with a Group 1 race in Ireland because he's put so much trust and faith in me ever since I was an apprentice. It has been a big call for him to stick by me from the start so it would be the ultimate payback if I deliver the goods on Siskin."

If Siskin is to keep his unbeaten record intact, he will have to beat a battalion of Ballydoyle-based juveniles as Aidan O'Brien is responsible for ten of the 16 entries as he attempts to win the race for an astonishing 17th time.

Among those ten is Arizona, who defeated Threat in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot in June. Monarch Of Egypt, who chased home Siskin in the Railway Stakes, is also a possible in what promises to be a terrific renewal.

The Curragh's evening fixture will also be the first for new manager, Pat Keogh, who has moved across from Leopardstown and taken over from Derek McGrath at the helm.

Keogh is excited by the Friday night experiment and says that racegoers will see plenty of changes when they walk through the turnstiles.

Arizona: the Royal Ascot winner could line up for Aidan O'BrienCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Keogh said: "You will see some changes at the Curragh on Friday night. We have moved the owners' and trainers' facilities and there is a new food outlet beside the champagne terrace which we think will work well. There will be full movement on the first and second floors of the grandstand as well. We have also looked at our ticketing prices and we have made some reductions. It will be €20 on the night which I think it great value for a Group 1 race and music on top of it."

"I am very excited and for my first meeting to be a Group 1 is special. We will see how the Friday evenings work and review it at the end of the season. It is something different and I am a firm believer in that we have got to try different things."

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