Siskin shows off

The Ger Lyons-trained colt uses his impressive acceleration to defy traffic problems and claim Irish 2,000 Guineas honours

- MARCUS ARMYTAGE

Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas, The Curragh, Ireland

ONE of the disappointments of Royal Ascot’s St James’s Palace Stakes this Saturday, 20 June, is that coming eight days after Siskin showed an electrifying turn of foot in the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas at The Curragh, the colt will not be there.

Two furlongs out, Siskin, by Khalid Abdullah’s Kentucky-based sire First Defence, was hemmed in on the rail surrounded by two-thirds of the six runners from Ballydoyle (Fort Myers, Royal Lytham, Armory and Lope Y Fernandez), and it did not look promising. Had he stayed put, it would have been hopeless as half of them nearly ended up on the floor when Lope Y Fernandez drifted in and not even Moses would have got through the impending scrimmage.

But Colin Keane, riding his first Classic winner, was brave and stood no nonsense – he angled out and, with clean air in front of him, Siskin showed devastating acceleration to beat Vatican City by 1¾ lengths. It was the most impressive performance of the season so far. Trained by Ger Lyons, Siskin was unbeaten in three starts at two, including the Group One Phoenix Stakes.

“It’s 30 years of hard graft”