Colin Keane will be crowned champion jockey for the third successive season and for the fourth time in all as the 2022 Flat season concludes at Naas Racecourse on Sunday. Donegal’s Dylan Browne McMonagle is champion apprentice for the second time, while Aidan O’Brien and Mrs Sue Magnier are once again the champion trainer and champion owner respectively.
With Billy Lee on the sidelines for tomorrow evening’s meeting at Dundalk and Sunday’s Naas fixture, Keane secured the title when bringing his tally to 90 winners at Dundalk on Wednesday.
Runner-up in the championship for the previous two seasons, Shane Foley finishes in third spot this time with Wayne Lordan, Ben Coen and Seamie Heffernan next on the list heading into the final weekend.
Colin’s season was highlighted by his Group 1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby success on the Ralph Beckett-trained Westover, his first win in the race. He scored at Group 2 level on the Ger Lyons-trained Camorra in the Comer Group International Curragh Cup and on the Michael O’Callaghan-trained Crypto Force in the Alan Smurfit Memorial Beresford Stakes.
The Lyons-trained Markaz Paname and Dr Zempf were both Group 3 winners while the four-time scorer Mutasarref was Keane’s most prolific winner this season.
Dylan Browne McMonagle has dominated the apprentice ranks. The Letterkenny man enjoyed his breakthrough Group 1 success on the Joseph O’Brien-trained Al Riffa in the Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes at the Curragh in September and he rode three Joseph O’Brien-trained Group 3 winners in Ireland during the year, Tranquil Lady, Gear Up and Statement.
Night Of Romance, another trained by O’Brien, was a big handicap winner for him in the Dubai Duty Free Summer Fillies Handicap at the Curragh on Derby weekend.
Mikey Sheehy sits in second place of the junior title race with two meetings of the season remaining. Mikey rode out his claim when winning the Irish Cambridgeshire on the Joseph O’Brien-trained Federal in late August and he enjoyed his first Group race success on the O’Brien-trained Lumiere Rock in the Group 3 Staffordstown Stud Stakes at the Curragh early last month. Mikey finished runner-up in the apprentice title race last season.
For the 25th time, Aidan O’Brien is Ireland’s champion trainer. A multiple Group 1 winner in Britain and France during the year, Aidan won at the highest level in Ireland in the Kingdom Of Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes with Luxembourg and in the Comer Group International Irish St Leger with his champion stayer Kyprios.
The two-year-old Little Big Bear won the Group 1 Keeneland Phoenix Stakes while Waterville scored a most notable handicap success in the Friends of the Curragh Irish Cesarewitch.
Mrs Sue Magnier is Ireland’s champion owner once again. Mrs Magnier narrowly gets the better of her fellow Coolmore partners Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith to retain the title.
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