Padraig Dawn has Michelin-starred chef dreaming of Guineas glory Part-owner Niall Keating knows all about pressure at top of his profession and now he is confident he will see something special at Newmarket on Saturday when his colt Padraig Dawn takes his chance in the Betfred 2000 Guineas. The Saxon Warrior bay won handily on his debut at Southwell and only went down by a neck when he was stepped up in grade in the Listed Burradon Stakes at Newcastle on All-Weather Finals day. He gave rookie trainer Charlie Pike his first victory of his career at Southwell and Michelin star chef Keating, who owns Padraig Dawn in partnership with Gary Gillies, cannot wait to see what the future holds, starting at HQ on Saturday. Culinary Star Eyes Headquarters Glory With Rookie Handler Keating told the Press Association: “Goodness me, not only is it exciting with the Guineas but we’ve also entered him into the St James’s Palace at Ascot. “We’re very confident in his current form. Charlie’s happy and we made the decision to supplement based on where we see him tracking this year. “It’s wide open. We’ve seen what he’s done in his first two races so why not? We’ve only got one chance at it. I’m happy, I’m excited more than anything because I do genuinely believe that something’s going to happen on Saturday and I think Charlie Pike could potentially be the youngest Guineas trainer after this weekend. “If we’d had another 10 metres (at Newcastle) we would have won. We had Charlie’s first win and Padraig Dawn is actually named after my parents so it’s a real special time for me to be involved with Gary and the outfit we’ve got with Charlie. “We came off a debut win but especially for Charlie, that meant the world to him. To be able to do this and make this journey with Charlie, especially bringing him through in everything we can just makes it even more exciting. It comes down to what we can achieve with and for Charlie, really. “I’ve had a small taste of ownership before, not a huge 50 per cent stake like this in what is now a serious horse.” Shared Ambition Fuels Growing Racing Passion Of his connection with co-owner Gillies, Keating added: “Gary and I have mutual friends. “I’m a chef and I’ve always cooked at a high level. I’ve had two Michelin stars, the youngest to earn two Michelin stars and to be in this circle of people it was interesting to me to see how this all worked. “I’ve always been an absolute lover of attending the races but it goes tenfold when attending, owning and running horses at a super high level. “It’s just become something that I’m massively passionate about, something that we’re on an incredible journey with. I couldn’t really be doing it with two better people than Gary and Charlie.” Of the likelihood of his involvement in racing expanding, Keating said: “I don’t think I can’t not buy more (horses). I really believe that this is something that I’m going to be a part of now in terms of having the support from Gary and enjoying this with Charlie as such a young trainer. “I don’t think I can step away from horse racing now. It’s become an absolutely massive passion and something I’m thinking about all the time. My diary is already busy and now I’m having to think about which race I’m going to next.”
