GALILEO MOVES INTO SECOND IN ALL-TIME GROUP 1 LIST
Magical – both the success that Galileo has been a stallion and the name of the horse who has him moved into second place in the all-time list of sires of Group 1 winners.
The Aidan O'Brien-trained three-year-old beat her high-class elder Coronet by a length on soft ground at Ascot on Saturday to take the Group 1 Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes over 12 furlongs, a fourth win in 11 starts for the regally-related bay.
She won the Group 2 Kilboy Estate Stakes over nine furlongs at the Curragh in July and the Group 2 Debutante Stakes over seven at that same venue 11 months before, and she was short-headed by her stable-mate Happily in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes.
Only wins, seconds and thirds count for blacktype, of course, but it would be an omission not to mention that this filly has finished fourth in each of the Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac, Group 1 Fillies' Mile, and Group 1 Matron Stakes.
Saturday's race was only her second attempt beyond nine furlongs and that other effort was not bad at all as she was only beaten about five and a quarter lengths when unplaced behind Enable in the recent Group 1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp.
Although she is a daughter of Galileo, there was no guarantee on pedigree that she would stay the distance.
Her full-brother Flying The Flag got his pattern success over 10 furlongs and was unplaced over farther, whereas her star sibling is Group 1 Lockinge Stakes heroine Rhododendron.
That star has also won the Group 1 Prix de l'Opera and the Group 1 Fillies' Mile, and she chased home Winter in the Group 1 1000 Guineas and Wuheida in the nine-furlong Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar.
Of course, Rhododendron did try 12 furlongs once and she had the third six lengths behind her when chasing home Enable in the Group 1 Oaks at Epsom, so it is hardly a surprise that one of her siblings should get a big win over the trip.
It is well-known that not every top Galileo stays 12 furlongs, even if most of them do, and what left the question mark over Magical was the strong speed angle in her family.
She is out of Halfway To Heaven, the triple Group 1 star who took both the Irish 1000 Guineas and Sun Chariot Stakes in 2008.
The mile was close to the outer range of what might have been expected for a daughter of star sprinters Pivotal (by Polar Falcon) and Cassandra Go (by Indian Ridge), with 10 furlongs the likely maximum of one representing that cross, and on the first of two tries at that distance, she narrowly beat Lush Lashes in the Group 1 Nassau Stakes at Goodwood.
Her dam, a half-sister to the speedy classic-placed pattern winner Verglas (by Highest Honor), won the Group 2 Temple Stakes and Group 2 King's Stand Stakes and then chased home Mozart in the Group 1 July Cup – her final three starts.
Halfway To Heaven's half-sisters Tickled Pink (by Invincible Spirit) and Theann (by Rock Of Gibraltar (by Danehill) were pattern winners over six furlongs, and the first-named also got a Group 3 score over five.
Theann, of course, has given us another example of a Galileo who excels at around a mile as her star daughter is Photo Call (by Galileo), who beat Tepin in the Grade 1 First Lady Stakes over a mile at Keeneland two years ago.
It is true that she also won a Grade 1 over 10 furlongs at Santa Anita and a Grade 3 over 11 at Gulfstream Park but the level of form required for those was considerably less than what she showed at Keeneland, which was at last partly why she was a 30/1 shot that day.
Theann is also responsible for this year's Group 2 Richmond Stakes winner Land Force, a member of the promising first crop of fellow Coolmore Stud resident No Nay Never (by Scat Daddy).
Magical, who, like so many good horses, was bred by Orpendale, Chelston & Wynatt, may bid for further top-level middle-distance success at the upcoming Breeders' Cup, where she holds entries in both the 11-furlong Filly & Mare Turf and 12-furlong Turf.
Although now second to Danehill (by Danzig) by Group 1 winners, Galileo is still in third place by overall number of individual stakes winners, but (up to Wednesday night) he is only seven short of beating his sire's tally of 294, which included 73 Group 1 stars.
It is not inconceivable that he could achieve that landmark in the next few months, if not by the end of the year, and with the rate that he adds stakes winners to his tally, and presuming that he remains in good health for at least another few years, it is entirely possible that he will eventually cap Danehill's totals of 83 Group 1 winners from 348 blacktype scorers.
Indeed, two of his total came at Naas on Sunday when the Aidan O'Brien-trained three-year-olds Sarrocchi and Curly won listed races over eight and 12 furlongs respectively.
The former, who was bred by the partnership of Rockhart Trading Ltd and China Horse Club, is out of mile Group 2-placed stakes winner Thai Haku (by Oasis Dream) and from the family of Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club star Hernando (by Ninisk), who won the classic when it was still over 12 furlongs.
Curly, on the other hand, was bred by Storm Bloodstock and is out of Glass Slipper (by Danehill), an unraced full-sister to dual juvenile Group 1 star and leading classic sire Danehill Dancer.
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CLASSIC PROSPECT FOR BORN TO SEA
The first crop of classic-placed stakes winner Born To Sea (by Invincible Spirit) featured Group 3 winner and Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas) runner-up Sea Of Grace, and his latest juveniles may have another classic prospect in their midst.
Like Ling and Christopher Tsui's Group 1 star and Arc runner-up Sea Of Class (by Sea Of Stars), Wednesday's runaway seven-furlong Newmarket winner Rainbow Heart is trained by William Haggas, and she earned a 33/1 quote for next year's Group 1 Investec Oaks following this impressive performance.
She finished third third over the same course and distance on her debut late last month, and as she is a direct descendant of Sarah Siddons (by Le Levanstell) and by a stallion who is getting middle-distance horses and stayers, there is every reason to hope that she could be a leading Oaks candidate in the making and, looking farther ahead, perhaps one for the St Leger too.
The homebred bay is the second foal of Group 2 Prix de Royallieu winner Sea Of Heartbreak (by Rock Of Gibraltar), and that mare is out of Top Forty (by Rainbow Quest), a half-sister to the dam of St Leger runner-up The Last Drop (by Galileo).
Sarah Siddons is the fourth dam, she won the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas and Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks and was runner-up in the Group 1 Irish Oaks and Group 1 Prix Vermeille, her offspring included Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes scorer and notable National Hunt sire Seymour Hicks (by Ballymore), and her many notable descendants include Group 1 star and Arc runner-up Leggera (by Sadler's Wells).
Born To Sea, a half-brother to Galileo (by Sadler's Wells) and Sea The Stars (by Cape Cross), began his stallion career at Rathasker Stud, moved to Gilltown Stud after two seasons, and is due to transfer to Haras des Faunes, in France, in 2019.
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RAKAN ONE TO NOTE
With the flat season winding down, attentions as being drawn more towards juvenile maiden and novice races with a view to spotting the potential classic and Group 1 stars of 2019, and Rakan is one of those to catch the eye recently.
Hamdan Al Maktoum's homebred son of Gilltown Stud stallion Sea The Stars (by Cape Cross) did battle with another son of his classic sire – the Jessica Harrington-trained Mr Secretary – but then pulled clear inside the final furlong to take Sunday's mile maiden at Leopardstown by almost three lengths.
He had finished third to subsequent stakes winner and potential classic candidate Norway on his debut at Naas 18 days before and, like that colt, he too holds an entry in the Group 1 Investec Derby.
Rakan, who is trained by Dermot Weld, is the first foal of the stable's high-class Tarfasha (by Teofilo), who won the Group 2 Blandford Stakes and Group 3 Blue Wind Stakes over 10 furlongs and chased home the brilliant Taghrooda in the Group 1 Oaks at Epsom.
The mare's siblings include the Group 2 Goodwood Cup and Group 2 Doncaster Cup star Saddler's Rock (by Sadler's Wells) and so Rakan looks all but guaranteed to stay 12 furlongs, and possibly a bit farther.
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BOOST FOR RATHASKER STUD SIRE
Rathasker Stud's successful freshman sire Es Que Love (by Clodovil) got another pedigree boost recently when his half-sister Listen In won the Group 2 Prix du Conseil de Paris at ParisLongchamp.
Previously a multiple pattern-placed dual stakes winner, the Freddy Head-trained four-year-old is a talented middle-distance performer and her ability to stay much farther than her brother did was to be expected given that he's by a miler son of Danehill (by Danzig) whereas she's a daughter of Sea The Stars (by Cape Cross).
Listen In was bred by the Es Que Syndicate and her siblings also include Group 1 Hong Kong Vase scorer Dominant (by Cacique) and smart miler Zhui Feng (by Invincible Spirit), a stakes winner who also took the Royal Hunt Cup.
Their dam, Es Que (by Inchinor), is a winning daughter of French listed scorer Bellona (by Bering) and she could be described as being a three-parts sister to In Clover (by Inchinor), the pattern-winning 'blue hen' mare whose five stakes winners feature the Group 1 stars We Are (by Dansili), With You (by Dansili), and Call The Wind (by Frankel).
Group 2 Lennox Stakes winner Es Que Love has only had a handful of runners to date but most of his first-crop juvenile winners are multiple scorers.
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GALILEO DUO OFF THE MARK
Two Ballydoyle-based Galileo (by Sadler's Wells) juveniles are among the recent maiden winners to show potential and it would be no surprise to see either, or both, of them become stakes or pattern winners.
Chablis made a winning debut over seven furlongs at Gowran Park on Tuesday, taking a seven-furlong race by three-parts of a length.
The 1,550,000gns graduate of Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale was bred by the famous Barronstown Stud, she is out of Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary heroine Vadawina (by Unfuwain) and so is a full-sister to Group 1-placed pattern scorer The Pentagon.
She is also a half-sister to Group 1-placed middle-distance Group 2 winner Vadamar (by Dalakhani), to pattern-placed runaway listed scorer Vedouma (by Dalakhani) and to multiple group-placed Vedevani (by Dubawi).
Vadawina's string of blacktype siblings include fellow Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary winner Vazira (by Sea The Stars) and dual middle-distance pattern winner Vadapolina (by Trempolino), and others of note close up in the family include Group 1 stars such as Valixir (by Trempolino), Vadamos (by Monsun), Val Royal (by Royal Academy), and Valyra (by Azamour).
The following race on the Gowran Park card went to Albuquerque, who showed improvement from his unplaced debut run at Leopardstown in May to take a seven-furlong maiden by a neck.
He was bred by the Looking Back Syndicate, is out of the stakes-placed Looking Back (by Stravinsky), and so is a full-brother to Group 1 star and blacktype sire Rip Van Winkle.