38/1 brace for Lyons and Keane on big day at Leopardstown

Out of a Verglas mare the heavy, soft to heavy in places surface was unlikely to stop Who's Steph and with Ger Lyons' horses in excellent form the grey put up a likeable performance to claim the Group 3 Ballylinch Stud 'Priory Belle' 1,000 Guineas Trial Stakes at Leopardstown.

The 10/1 chance was bringing up a double for Lyons and champion jockey Colin Keane, finding plenty when required inside the final quarter mile to see off Yulong Gold Fairy and I Can Fly by a length and a half and half a length. Future Proof earlier got the day off to a great start for Lyons and Keane in the opening three-year-old mile maiden.

"The second closing of the Irish Guineas was the other day an I said to the lads 'ah we'll leave it don't be silly'," said Lyons.

"She did that well and went through the ground, we know she wants it. If it was good ground we wouldn't have run her because she wants every bit of a mile.

"You'd have to be impressed with her and her temperament is to die for. She does everything I want at home, I'm impressed with her.

"I'm not a fan of buying fillies because unless you get black-type you are stuck with them. When you have them this good it makes up for all the others.

"We'll go home, sit down and make a plan. The dream is still alive at the moment but we don't have big early closing entries with her.

"I'm not a traveller, I love staying at home, so we'll find something here for her and there will be no firm in it.

"There's every chance she could come back here next month but if a good offer comes in she'll be sold because she's a filly. This is the first batch of fillies we've ever bought.

"She's named after my daughter Kerri's friend. I used to take the mickey out of her when she was in school and the little girl was coming home with her I'd say 'who is coming home' and she'd say 'Steph' and I'd say 'who's Steph?'. It used to drive them insane.

"So by coincidence we named this horse after her and it turned out to be a good one.

"The horses are well and I'm delighted with them and the ways things are going. The only negative is that I didn't have the balls to put her in the Guineas."

(GC & EM)