Hear the full interview
From 21:34 in Monday’s episode of Nick Luck Daily. Press play to start at the interview.
Folsom Blues was bred to be sold, but Al Shira’aa Racing could not bring themselves to let him go, and the decision has taken the operation to a new level, according to Kieran Lalor.
The Joseph O’Brien-trained son of Blue Point, winner of the National Stakes at the Curragh, now heads to Keeneland for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf on Friday with Dylan Browne McMonagle in the saddle. He arrived in Kentucky on Saturday.
“Normally our colts go through the ring, but we fell in love with this guy, pleaded with the boss if we could hold on to him, and it’s worked out,” Lalor, who manages Al Shira’aa’s interests, told Nick Luck. “The fact that he’s a homebred raises our game. It speaks volumes for the guys on our farm and the land that we’re able to produce a horse like him. We just need to produce more of them.”
He added that O’Brien was enthusiastic about the colt from the start. “I remember going down to Carriganog, and Joseph was speaking highly of him within two months of having him.”
Keeneland test
Lalor expects the colt to cope with Keeneland’s tight turf track, which he described as being “almost turning the whole time”, with a short straight. “He’s a very relaxed horse now. I think he’ll cope with it fine,” he said. “He’s gone around plenty of bends at Leopardstown and Gowran, not the same as here, but he’s got the pace to keep up as well.”
He is wary of Aidan O’Brien’s pair Great Barrier Reef and Florida Bay. “I think Florida Bay could be underrated,” he said. “There’ll be plenty of others there, so he’ll have to run his best race and hopefully he gets around it handy enough.”
“We fell in love with this guy, pleaded with the boss if we could hold on to him, and it’s worked out.”
Kieran Lalor on Folsom Blues
Guineas next
After Keeneland, Folsom Blues will be given a long break with a Guineas in mind next spring. “He’s a big, sound-looking horse, so I think he’ll be one that can step up to the mile, either at Newmarket or in France or Ireland,” Lalor said. “We’ll probably target a Guineas first and see how he goes through the winter. But get through this one first.”
He was full of praise for Browne McMonagle, who won Saturday’s Futurity Trophy at Doncaster on Giant Sequoia. “Dylan’s amazing. We’re delighted to have him back and delighted to see him get that Group 1 win,” he said. “He’s a great guy, works very hard, and he’s got a great head on his shoulders.”
Back in Kentucky
For Lalor, the trip is a homecoming. He lived in Kentucky for 17 years from 1999, starting at Castleton Lyons, where he helped raise Gio Ponti, and still has close friends at Ashford. “It’s like coming back home again,” he said. “More exciting this time, because we have a very good horse on Friday.”
