Keatley Jet Setting To Success

Adrian Keatley is a name that is cropping up a lot in Ireland these days, and if this year's early season flat results are any indication, it is name that we will be hearing a lot more of. The Kildare native achieved an early career milestone when saddling Jet Setting (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}) to win the G3 Leopardstown 1000 Guineas Trial S. last Sunday, the first group win of his nascent training operation. All the more noteworthy was that the win was achieved not with a sale topping blueblood, but with a diminutive 12,000gns horse-in-training purchase from Richard Hannon's powerful stable at Tattersalls last October. Once purchased, Keatley wasted little time in putting his new charge to work, bringing her to Chantilly less than a month after the sale for the Listed Prix Herod, in which she finished third on heavy ground, boosting her paddock value in the process. She reappeared at Cork in March, where she broke her maiden in good style and, given her ability to handle testing conditions, Keatley was keen to let her take her chance up in grade at Leopardstown.

“It was a great day, and to get a group winner so early in my career is a brilliant boost,” said the trainer. “That was her day in the sun. Hopefully, she can progress. She'll be supplemented for both the Irish and the German 1000 Guineas, so that's the plan for her. Even if she never wins another race, it's job done.”

Keatley was only granted his training license for the 2014 season, but he had put in a solid apprenticeship in his more formative years that would leave him well-equipped for a career as a trainer. He served his time as a teenager working for jumps trainer Francis Flood, and rode as an amateur for a few seasons. He then became assistant trainer to Oliver McKiernan for six years. There, he oversaw the training of some talented jumpers like Follow The Plan (Ire) (Accordion {GB}) and Whatuthink (Ire) (Presenting {GB}). However, it was a move further from home that would add the finishing touches to a well-rounded education.

“I knew in the long term that I wanted to train flat horses,” Keatley explained. “I love jump racing, but I think you have a better chance of making a living in the flat game. With that in mind, I decided I needed to learn a bit more about flat racing and how the two training regimes differ.”

With that, Keatley packed his bags in 2010 and left for Australia, working first for trainer John O'Shea before doing a longer stint with Chris Waller. “I found the whole thing fascinating over there,” he noted. “The way they train is totally different to here, the tracks are different and they train them on the clock. When I was with John O'Shea I was looking after Foxwedge (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), and it really opened my eyes.”

He added, “Chris Waller is an amazing trainer, you just have to look at the results in those Group 1 races and you realise what a training operation he has developed and even how he has handled Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) is further testament to that.”

After three years Keatley decided the time had come to set up on his own.

“In 2013 I came home with the intention of getting married and becoming a trainer, and at least I've achieved one of those goals,” joked the 33-year-old. He began renting a yard from Peter McCreery near his hometown of Dunlavin and began the 2014 season with only a handful of low-grade horses. “I knew the horses I started with had their limitations, so I decided my best chance of getting a few winners on the board was to travel,” he said. “So I went to Chepstow with Lady Ranger (Ire) (Bushranger {Ire}) in May 2014 and she got us off the mark.”

Carraroe Flyer (Ire) (Sintarajan {Ire}) was also good to Keatley early on, notching up two wins at home and two abroad. One of those wins was at Ayr in August when Keatley doubled up with the Johnny McKeever-owned Autumn Tide (Ire) (Jeremy), a win that has paved a way towards current success.

“Johnny introduced me to John Kilbride, and we put our heads together and formed a syndicate of investors to purchase a few yearlings,” Keatley said. “John manages the now-called Equinegrowthpartners Syndicate, and we bought Jet Setting as well, so it is going well so far. Even though most of the horses are for sale, I want to train good horses, so that's the ultimate goal.”

Having moved to his current base on The Curragh before the season began, Keatley has seen the quality of his string increase in line with quantity. He has shown his ability to ready an early 2-year-old and had two runners in the opening juvenile turf maiden of the season at the Curragh. Cosy Club (Ire) (So You Think {NZ}), a €15,000 yearling purchase, finished an eye-catching fourth, with The McGregornator (Ire) (Bushranger {Ire}) finishing down the field. However the last named, bought for just €7,500 as a yearling, showed the benefit of that debut experience when winning two weeks later back at the Curragh.

“He lost his action coming out of the stalls the first day, so we knew we could put a line through that,” Keatley explained. “We have ten 2-year-olds for the season and it was great to get off the mark with one early in the season. It gives us a good idea of where we stand with the others, so hopefully there will be another good one among them.”

Keatley hasn't turned his back completely on his jumping roots, and has a high-class National Hunt horse in his care called Thebarrowman (Ire) (Mahler {GB}). The 6-year-old is unbeaten in three starts, winning a point to point, a bumper at Fairyhouse and a maiden hurdle at Navan earlier this month. Keatley brought him to the Tattersalls Ireland sale at the Cheltenham Festival in March but the pair returned home, the gelding having failed to reach his £100,000 reserve. Not that Keatley is overly concerned, such is his opinion of the horse.

“He is a real stayer in the making and he should be top-class when he sees a fence,” he said. “We will have a look at the three-mile Grade 1 novice hurdle at Punchestown, but his future really does lie over fences. I'd love to have a few more jumpers, especially for the winter months, but it's so hard to get a nice one.”

It's not easy to unearth a good horse under any code, but Adrian Keatley has already shown that success can be achieved without spending a fortune, and he possesses both the talent and the ambition to be an emerging force among the Irish training ranks.