Champion Keane completes final races double

Champion jockey Colin Keane completed a final-races double on Champions Weekend today, winning the Curragh's concluding Irish Stallion Farms EBF 'Northfields' Handicap on Crystal Black (5/1jf), for his father trainer Gerry Keane.

Unsuccessful at Leopardstown yesterday, the four-times champion got off the mark on Native American in today's 35-minutes earlier Sales Race on Native American and doubled his score on Crystal Black.

Drawn 22 and held up towards the rear, the five-year-old made progress on the outer from two furlongs out, improving to lead inside the final furlong to edge past Kingswood

Keane senior stated “in the Cambridgeshire it looked like he came to win but it just didn’t work out. I thought it was a more competitive race today. I think Colin rode him a bit further back but it worked out anyway.

“He’s a good horse and has really come to hand. I’m not sure whether he will have another race or a break. We’ll hardly be going hurdling for a while! We were thinking of schooling him over the winter but we’ll see how it goes.”

He added “we previously won the Cambridgeshire and the Ahonoora (Handicap), with Laughifuwant, but prizemoney-wise that is our biggest win.”

Quotes from Alan Magee