In the TDN's Breeders' Cup Breakthrough series, we catch up with the six trainers who celebrated their first win at the Breeders' Cup World Championships in 2024. We discuss the road to securing that victory and what they hope to accomplish from here. Next up is Ger Lyons. After scoring in last year's GI Juvenile Turf Sprint with Magnum Force (Mehmas), the successful Meath-based trainer is hoping to get back to the same race this year with Lady Iman (Starman), who makes her next start in Friday's G2 Flying Childers Stakes. Read more from the series here. When Ger Lyons sent out his first Flat winner in October 1994, the two-year-old filly Maelalong (Maelstrom Lake) was his only horse in training. As Lyons recounts the story, his National Hunt string had left the yard that very morning.Few, at the time, might have imagined what lay ahead for the Co. Kildare native, who found his way into the sport without the benefit of any family connection in racing. Yet Lyons has never been one to dwell on circumstance. For him, the horizon has always mattered far more than the rearview. Even today, with his first Breeders' Cup triumph behind him, his drive is stronger than ever.“This is what I aimed for,” Lyons said as he reflected on his results from last November at Del Mar. “This is what I said I was going to do in my head. Now, saying it and doing it are two different things, but if I retire tomorrow, I've done okay. Will I ever be satisfied? Probably not. Because you always seem to be chasing it.”If determination has defined Lyons's career, it took root early. As a young boy, he watched the daily rhythm of Peter McCreery's yard from his window, and when he was older, went to work for the trainer himself.His parents urged him toward university, but Lyons had other ideas.“I knew what I wanted to do from day one,” he recalled. “I didn't want to stay in school, but there was no way that was going to happen because my parents didn't understand this game. The unwritten deal I did with them was that I'd do my Leaving Cert, but then I was out. I know I got my Leaving Cert, but I didn't even go collect it. I just went straight into McCreery's and carried on from there.”At age 20, Lyons headed to America to ride for Carl Nafzger, spending time at Keeneland and at Canterbury Park in Minnesota. He rubbed shoulders with the likes of Mike Smith, Kenny Black and Sandy Hawley—jockeys he hoped to emulate one day.All the while, he was intent on absorbing everything around him.“You learn by osmosis,” he cited. “The American exercise riders would go in and line up against the wall, waiting on their next horse to come out. I'd be in there tacking up or learning how to bandage.”One of the highlights of his time in the States was riding Smile (In Reality) in the run-up to his victory in the 1986 GI Breeders' Cup Sprint Stakes. The then-fledgling world championship meet left a lasting impression on Lyons, even if his own trajectory would soon veer in a different direction. A few years after his stint America, a serious injury as a National Hunt rider cut his career as a jockey short and set him on a new course as a trainer.Lyons ahead of his first ride for Peter McCreery | courtesy Ger LyonsThe shift eventually brought Lyons full circle. Siskin (First Defence) handed Lyons his first Classic win in the 2020 Irish 2,000 Guineas and later carried him to his Breeders' Cup debut in the GI Mile. The following year, fellow Juddmonte homebred Acanella (Dansili) contested the Filly and Mare Turf.Neither Breeders' Cup attempt produced the results Lyons had hoped for, but in 2024 he struck gold when Magnum Force came flying from off the pace to win the Juvenile Turf Sprint.A homebred for Sheikh Abdulla bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Magnum Force's third-place effort in the G2 Flying Childers Stakes led Lyons to believe that the son of Mehmas was a good fit for five furlongs at Del Mar.“A fast five around the bend was made for a horse like him,” he explained. “The minute we saw this horse on the far side of the water, we knew he had arrived. Mentally, he was made for it. You'd see horses melting on occasion because there's a lot going on out there, but this horse just took to it. Realistically, he's a rock-and-roll six-furlong–maybe even a seven-furlong–horse, but he has the speed for five and he is only getting going. When they're stopping, he's just coming, and it played into his hands.”For Lyons, it was a victory unlike any other career accomplishment.“The highlight of highlights has been the Breeders' Cup, end of story,” he said. “We've won the Cheveley Park Stakes and we've won two Irish Classics, but they were during Covid in 2020. That's not fair to them, like I love the two horses and I love the fact they are on my CV, but I was on my own for them. The Breeders' Cup is a very good experience and if you're lucky enough to have a horse that's good enough to go, I would advise you to go.”In typical Lyons fashion, the trainer has barely stopped to reflect on the breakthrough win in the months since last year's Breeders' Cup. He said he has watched the race replay only once.“You're only as good as your last winner,” he noted. “If I hadn't trained a winner since last year's Breeders' Cup, I'd be out of business.”Magnum Force in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint | Breeders' Cup Eclipse SportswireAnd so, while Magnum Force is looking to get back to top form after two unplaced starts this year, Lyons's Glenburnie Stables is riding high from the emergence of a new star.Lady Iman claimed three wins in her first four starts this year, highlighted by her score in the G3 Molecomb Stakes where she secured a 'Win and You're In' ticket to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. Afterwards, Lyons was clear about his intentions of getting back to Del Mar, saying, “If I can dance on that dance floor again, I'm going as that is what racing is about for me.”In her latest start, Lady Iman took on older rivals in the G1 Nunthorpe Stakes, but after breaking awkwardly she was unable to make a run at Australia's star seven-year-old Asfoora (Flying Artie) and finished 14th.On Friday, the juvenile will return to her own division for the G2 Flying Childers Stakes, following the same path as Magnum Force last year. Lyons said that if all goes well at Doncaster, the next stop will be the Breeders' Cup.“Lady Iman is a beautiful filly and I would say at this stage of her game, she is better than him, which is grand,” he said. “She has proven to be special. She has a rock-solid temperament for it and she's a five-furlong specialist who has the speed and will hit the line strong.”Lady Iman claims the G3 Molecomb Stakes | Goodwood RacecourseDeveloping young horses like Magnum Force and Lady Iman has always been one of Lyons's greatest passions, but with his operation's growing success, his focus has narrowed in on securing top-level talent for his stable.“I just love the two-year-olds and we're blessed with the pedigrees we've been getting in the last few years,” he said. “We built the business on making pedigrees, overachieving with pedigrees, but that only gets you so far. Back in 1994, I would have thought that I can't wait to have 30 horses, or I can't wait to have 50 or 100 horses. You're thinking as you get up it'll get easier. I can quite honestly say it just gets harder, because the higher you go, the harder you have to pedal to stay there.”If history is any guide, backing down has never been this horseman's style.“I was always pretty determined of what I wanted to do,” Lyons explained. “I knew I could do it. But it's one thing knowing it and another thing doing it. When I got a trainer's licence, I came out fighting and I've always felt that I had to fight my way.”Even as he reflects on a career milestone like the Breeders' Cup, Lyons is already looking forward. With Lady Iman showing promise and a yard full of young talent, the next challenge is already taking shape.The post Breeders’ Cup Breakthrough: Lyons Chasing Back-to-Back Success at Del Mar appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.