Title for Keane would be a rare triumph for a rider not backed by the big guns

Ger Lyons has never been afraid to plough his own furrow, but he has surely made few better leftfield decisions than appointing an apprentice as his stable jockey in June 2014.

At the time, in Gary Carroll and Emmet McNamara, Lyons also had the services of the holders of three champion apprentice titles at his disposal, yet it was a 19-year-old claimer who compelled him to look for a signature.

Time has proven his judgement of Colin Keane’s professional attributes and riding ability to be borderline visionary.