Keane hoping new record for Irish winners is ‘very doable’

Molly Hunter
August 31, 2021 5:38 pm

‘It’s been winner after winner and I’m just very fortunate to be honest’.

Colin Keane has an eye on Joseph O’Brien’s record for the most Irish Flat winners ridden in a season after hitting the 100 mark at the weekend.

Barretta aided Keane in reaching a century of winners this term when he took the Donate To The Coast To Curragh Cycle In Memory Of Pat Smullen Maiden at Navan on Saturday.

Keane enjoyed another victory on the Navan card before a busy book of rides at Roscommon’s evening meeting on Monday returned three further successes, leaving him on a current total of 104 winners for the campaign thus far.

That figure sees the jockey at the head of the Irish jockeys’ championship with a significant advantage over second-placed Shane Foley, who currently trails by 48 victories on a total of 56.

With his third championship all but won, Keane now has his sights set on the record for the highest number of winners ever ridden during the Irish Flat season.

The current holder of that honour is jockey-turned-trainer O’Brien, who racked up 126 successes during the 2013 campaign.

“It’s something we didn’t really think of throughout the year,” Keane said.

“Obviously we tried to beat the previous year’s tally and we just hit the ground running this year, the horses have just been in such good form and my agent has done a good job in getting me on the horses when I wasn’t riding for the boss (Ger Lyons) or Mr (Dermot) Weld.

“It’s been winner after winner and I’m just very fortunate to be honest.

“When we got to the 100, the next logical thing was to think about what the record was.

“It’s only in the last week or two that I’ve paid heed to it as such.

“It is probably very doable if we can keep going the way we’re going and fingers crossed we can, we’ll give it a good go.”

Keane was quick to give credit to his agent, Ruaidhri Tierney, who has helped him secure rides for 63 different trainers throughout the season.

“He does a very good job and we work really well together,” he said.

“We don’t put pressure on each other and I let him do his job and he lets me to my job, so we don’t really interfere. I’d say that’s probably why we get on so well.”