Sakti completes Cooley hat-trick for Lyons & Keane

Ger Lyons and Colin Keane teamed up to land the Listed Irish Stallion Farms EBF Cooley Fillies And Mares Stakes for the third successive year as Sakti made all at Dundalk this evening.

Keane got the 11/4 favourite quickly away from her outside draw and soon had her over to the inside rail to dictate the mile event.

She found plenty when asked for her effort in the straight and kept on well inside the final furlong to score by a length from Vivienda who made it a 1-2 for Glenburnie Stables.

English raider Cloud Cover didn’t enjoy much luck in running before coming home strongly just a head further back in third.

This completed a quick double for Lyons and Keane who also had Misappropriation up with the pace throughout from a wide draw in the previous fillies maiden. The same combination also landed the previous two renewals of the 'Cooley' with Many Tears and Juncture.

Lyons’ brother and assistant Shane said: “If ever there was a truer word, she deserved that.

"She has got the black type in the bag every race she has run. She is a stalwart, but it is just brilliant to get the number one on her back.

"I just said to Colin there to keep it simple. He was going to make good of a bad draw. If he was going hard in front, he's (on) the highest-rated horse in the race and they were going to feel it in the last half a furlong. There was no point setting it up for them.

"She's a beautiful-looking filly. From day one, she has been promising to do that and I'm just delighted that she has done it.

"We have the dilemma, and a good dilemma, over the winter to talk about whether we keep her in training or not. We have a nice problem over the winter to enjoy.

"Up until tonight, we were going to keep her in training because she is a big mare and everything like that. It is a good problem to have.

"She has it in the bag now, so there is absolutely no pressure.

"Delighted for Sean (Jones), Dave (Spratt) Ger and Lynne (Lyons)."

Quotes by Michael Graham