The biggest news story in racing this week has been the the appointment of Colin Keane as retained rider for Juddmonte with immediate effect. I think this development is really going to add a new dimension to the 2025 flat season and I will attempt to explain why here.

Six times Irish champion jockey and still only 30 years of age, Keane will be first jockey for Juddmonte in Ireland, Britain and France. He will still be based with trainer Ger Lyons who, it has to be said, was the first to publicly identify Keane’s potential to reach the very top.

It has always bemused Lyons, and others, that Keane has only rarely been called up to ride for Europe’s leading stables but that seems certain to change now. Over the coming weeks Keane will be riding in Group 1 races for the Gosdens, Ralph Beckett, Andre Fabre, Andrew Balding and others, not to forget Lyons and probably Dermot Weld.

If it’s going well then it’s highly likely that many of those trainers will end up booking Keane for other rides and other owners too. Keane’s new British agent Tony Hind won’t miss a single opportunity. The thing will snowball, like it did for Johnny Murtagh and Mick Kinane. Every time one of the leading British-based riders is indisposed, Keane’s name will be one of the first mentioned as a potential ‘supersub’.

In the aftermath of the Juddmonte-Keane news, plenty have commented “It’s about time” or words to that effect. But in fact you could argue that Keane’s career trajectory is still a little bit ahead of where Kinane and Murtagh were when they were 30.

Both of those greats rode a few Group 1 winners in their 20s but it wasn’t until they both turned 30 that they got their big international breaks.

Kinane was exactly 30 when he won his first Arc on Carroll House in 1989. He stayed with Dermot Weld – won a Melbourne Cup on Vintage Crop– and then eventually Sheikh Mohammed’s offers became too good to refuse. Kinane did five years with Coolmore too around the turn of the century (Galileo’s era) before moving to John Oxx for the grand finale of Sea The Stars.

Murtagh was riding Group 1 winners in his 20s for John Oxx but it wasn’t until he turned 30 in the year 2000 when Sinndar put him in the European shop window. Coolmore, Michael Stoute and Mark Johnston really only started using him in big races from that time onwards.

I think it’s going to be fascinating to see where Colin Keane is riding – and indeed where he is not riding – every day from now on. Obviously he’s going to be at Royal Ascot every day next week, so nothing surprising there. But what about in a relatively quiet week? Will he pop up at Kempton on a Wednesday night? Probably not but if he did travel over to Britain to ride in a two-year-old maiden or even a listed race you’d have to take note and try to read the signs.

Ger Lyons will be the first to know his jockey’s travelling plans. Will he start making more British entries when he knows Colin will be over there on specific days?

How many Sundays will Keane be required in France? Sunday is a big racing day in Ireland too. Big decisions to be made almost every weekend. Exciting times.

One of the best horses Juddmonte have in France this season is Sunly, a three-year-old filly who hacked up in a 12-furlong Group 3 on June 1st. If she doesn’t run in the Ribblesdale at Royal Ascot next week, she would be an ideal candidate for the Irish Oaks, sponsored by …. Juddmonte.

Looking further ahead Keane will be well placed to give feedback on any Juddmonte horses offered for sale in the autumn. I’ve already put a note in my diary for end of October to see who bought what. I expect to see a couple of Co Meath syndicates taking home a few dark ones!

Even further ahead I hope Ger Lyons will get a few more Juddmonte horses as a kind of finder’s fee for developing Colin Keane into the complete package he is today. This week’s news arguably brings more attention and prestige to Glenburnie but then again if the star jockey is not always available it weakens the team too. A couple of Frankels could smooth that over, thank you very much.

So, everyone’s a winner, right?

Not exactly. Oisin Murphy, Rossa Ryan, Christophe Soumillon and, to a lesser extent, Chris Hayes are going to lose out when Keane takes over on Juddmonte horses they have ridden in the past. Tadhg O’Shea will be hoping Keane stays away from Dubai next spring.

On the flip side, will overseas commitments hinder Keane's chance of retaining the Irish champion jockey title? Has Billy Lee's chance come at last?

Ger Lyons has plenty of good riders in his yard, notably Gary Carroll and James Ryan, but he says he reserves the right to use "the best available", so who will he turn to?

So many angles to consider. Yep, things just got really interesting.

PS: The team at The Irish Field will be sending out some Royal Ascot tips each day by email next week. You can sign up for the €4.99 service herehere.