John and Thady Gosden turn to jockey Colin Keane to partner their Irish 2,000 Guineas favourite Field Of Gold
Keane, attached to the Ger Lyons yard, has been champion jockey on this side of the Irish Sea for the past five seasons.
John and Thady Gosden have gone with local knowledge rather than booking an English jockey by adopting a 'best available' policy after Field Of Gold's defeat in the English Guineas when ridden by Kieran Shoemark.
Keane has already tasted Classic glory in the famous Juddmonte silks, having won the Irish 2,000 Guineas on Siskin for Lyons in 2020 and when he was booked by Ralph Beckett for Westover in the Irish Derby in 2022.
'I'm delighted to be asked to ride him, he looks a very good ride going into the race, I'm very much looking forward to it,' said Keane.
'The Juddmonte colours are those that growing up watching racing, you know who they are. I've been very fortunate to win two Classics wearing them and a couple more Group Ones and I'm just delighted to be asked to ride the colt at the weekend.
'Winning the Irish Guineas a few years ago for Ger was one of my best days. It's such a huge race and Juddmonte hadn't long been in the yard, he was their first Group One together.
'To get a horse of Siskin's calibre very early on was very special and for him to then go and win a Classic was very special, it was a brilliant day.'
Meanwhile, Donnacha O'Brien will supplement his unbeaten filly Atsila into the Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas today.
She didn't make her debut until April this year when winning a minor event at Bellewstown, but she stepped up markedly on that a month later to win the Group Three Athasi Stakes at the Curragh.
'The plan is to supplement her on Tuesday for the 1,000 Guineas,' said O'Brien yesterday. 'Her form looks strong. To be fair to Barry [Fowler, owner], he is game for anything. It was my fault that I didn't have her in the race in the first place, but he's more than happy to supplement and take a chance.
'I think she's entitled to be in the race.'
O'Brien also plans on being represented in the 2,000 Guineas by Comanche Brave after he pushed Henri Matisse close on his seasonal return and the winner subsequently went and won the French Guineas.
'He is working very well and I think he'll probably outrun his odds,' said O'Brien. 'He's not a big horse, but he's always worked like a very good horse. We're going to give him a chance in the Guineas. We could end up going back to seven [furlongs] for the Jersey [Stakes} at Ascot.'
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Ireland round out the season with dreary draw away to Luxembourg
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The 42
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A game soon forgotten but it does pose the question: just what do we want from Ireland?
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For the 300 or so travelling fans they didn't get a goal to celebrate, substitute Jack Taylor smashing the crossbar on 87 minutes. Advertisement Watching on TV, as so often can be the case when attention spans drift, there was a chance for a kind of introspection. Some of the banners being held up in one section of the ground were a catalyst. 'Red card for violence against women,' was the English translation of one. In the corner of the screen, where an Irish tricolour with Ballybrack was emblazoned across the front, a few more messages stood out from the locals. 'Let's break the silence.' 'Football is political.' 'Red card to the football federation.' Indeed, midway through the first half, pockets of supporters then stood up with red cards. Luxembourg striker Gerson Rodrigues was the reason for the second such protest in as many games. He was given an 18-month suspended sentence after being found guilty of assaulting his former girlfriend, and last April he lost his appeal against the charges and subsequent fines. His inclusion in the squad and place in the starting XI was the source of severe criticism. As half-time came and went, with O'Shea and Collins combining from a Will Smallbone free kick just before the break and the skipper heading off the post, it wasn't simply judgement of the Rodrigues situation that lingered. If you wanted to really look deep into it, when the Ireland team plays it is also a chance to see a reflection of the country it should represent. Four days ago, for example, more than 700 members of the Muslim community celebrated Eid al-Adha in a section of Croke Park. It is one of the holiest festivals – the feast of the sacrifice – yet it still resulted in protestors outside. The day before that, the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O'Callaghan, posted the following message on social media just before 8.30am. 'Another deportation flight left Dublin last night and landed safely this morning in Lagos, Nigeria. There were 35 people on board who had received but had not complied with Deportation Orders.' As was then detailed by The Journal, two of those children who were deported attended St James Primary school in Dublin 8 for the last three years. They had 'become an integral part of the community there' and the principal explained how staff and pupils were 'devastated' as the children were 'part of our football team, part of our school fabric, part of our school lives.' Those children would have been keen to watch this Ireland team play tonight. They should have been able to talk about it with classmates on Wednesday morning. By the time Evan Ferguson was shown a yellow card for stopping a counter attack 10 minutes into the second half, a broader examination of self, and the beliefs we hold, was underway. Yes, there did seem to be more of an edge to the action on the pitch, Parrott following Ferguson into the book for accosting Danel Sinani after he was yellow carded for a cynical foul on Kasey McAteer, but part of the reason for thoughts drifting was down to reading extracts of a speech made by Pep Guardiola that emerged on the day of the game. The Manchester City manager was receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester and made good use of the platform. 'It's so painful what we see in Gaza, it hurts my whole body. Let me be clear, it's not about ideology. It's not about whether I'm right, or you're wrong. It's just about the love of life, about the care of your neighbour.' This 0-0 draw will be forgotten instantly, but if it can go some way to Ireland team building towards World Cup qualification then what a joy that will be. Ireland needs it.
