Lyons & Keane collect in another Champions Festival opener

My Mate Alfie is a lovely horse but is invisible at home and so much so, that he caught me out a couple of times forgetting to put blinkers on him. He works to the button without blinkers but on the track he just won't do it. He's one of those fantastic horses. He holds an entry in the Ayr Gold Cup, I'm not saying we won't do it as it's a race I want to win, but we've been training this lad with the future in mind. I've kept saying to Austin (Whelan, owner) that we'd travel next year and to let me teach him how to sprint. Ten stone is a lot for a three-year-old and he's done it well; he's just a good horse and keeps turning up. We've trained him with next year in mind and he hasn't let us down. Whether he's a Group 1 sprinter, it's a huge jump from Group 3, but he's definitely going to mature into a better horse.

Super-sub Foley bags the Blandford

Shane is not slow as he sent me a voice message straight after Ben got injured last week saying 'if you need me for anything over Champions Weekend..'. He gave her a great ride as she needs to be settled and if you put her in the race too early, sometimes she can get up on the bridle. I told him 'the more relaxed she is, the better she'll finish' and while we didn't plan to be as far back, he said that was just the way it happened. She has a good turn of foot when she relaxes. I thought she had improved from her last run here a couple of weeks ago. I might have left her one gallop short with the eye on this race but I did think she'd nearly win the last time. With the little bit of rain last night and the extra furlong, I think this is the ideal trip for her, we were coming here quietly confident. There are a lot of good fillies in Ireland at the moment. I just had a feeling that today was going to be her day and with that extra furlong I knew she'd get home well. I was just delighted to see the line coming in time.

Story's over for Bedtime, as Lordan returns to the big time

we thought that she would finish second to the other filly (Bedtime Story) but Ryan's filly hit the gates and he couldn't get her back, and that was it. When that happens it's usually over. Lake Victoria is a very good filly though and went to Newmarket where she won very impressively. She's a very classy filly and is very fast. The plan was to take our time, let her relax and we didn't want to give her a tough race. Wayne gave her a brilliant ride. She's by Frankel but she's made like a sprinter and we ran her here with the thought in our heads that she could be a Cheveley Park filly. I'm delighted for Wayne. He's a great fella and he does a lot of work, day in day out, at home. He's a great rider, we're so lucky to have him here after what happened in the Irish Derby and he went through a tough time for four or five months, so nobody deserves it more. He's a great world class rider.

'Easy watching' as Doyle delivers on Bradsell

It was easy watching.

Joseph O'Brien records fifth National Stakes win

'Special stayer' Kyprios wins St Leger

he's so special, he's a very very special horse and every year he seems to be improving. That even looks to be his best again and Ryan said he won so easy. It's a special place and a special race. it's a very special pedigree and Eva has brought it along all the way and these kind of horses are once in a life time. In the Ascot Gold Cup very few horses are able to get that far but this horse has serious class as well. He's so genuine to get through what he has had: he's one in a million. He doesn't have to run again this year; the way we approach every race is that we see how he is and have a chat and then see if we go again and he could run in an Arc. It's important to mind him, do the right thing for him, and let him tell us how he is and where he wants to go at that time of the year.

Super Sales race success for Chantilly-based Irishman

it was a big call from Gavin to bring her over here and I got a good kick out of that as myself and Gavin worked in Jim Bolger's many moons ago, so that's our connection. He rang me during the week and we had a talk about whether it was worth bringing her and we both thought it was a good idea. Little fish are nice and it's a great pot to get. I'm very grateful to Gavin, he didn't forget from all those years ago and we're quite close. It was a great training performance, as she's not simple either. watching her videos and speaking to everyone involved she is quite a forward-going filly. Going that last (extra) furlong was a little bit of an unknown but we thought if she did things right, she'd see it out. She has a great attitude, she's tough. I maybe got there sooner than ideal but I didn't want to break her momentum.

Keane bookends Champions Festival on a late-declaration

I thought he might need the run as he thrived so well since Galway so didn't fill Michael (Mee, owner) with much confidence. It was a last minute declaration but thankfully it's all worked out as it's a great pot to get. He's a been a great horse and is very versatile. it was a very good ride but I probably didn't fill him with confidence either! I told him he might need the run and to ride him to run well, but he was ultra cool. He's still in the English Cambridgeshire in two weeks' time and if it turned up nice ground, he might go. He is ground dependent and likes to rattle off nice ground.