Circus Maximus will retire to Coolmore for 2021.

The son of Galileo was bred by the Niarchos family, being the only foal out of Duntle, their Group 2 winner and twice victorious at Royal Ascot. Like his dam, Circus Maximus scored twice at the Royal meeting, winning the Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes and the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes.

As a three-year-old he also won a strong renewal of the Group 1 Prix de Moulin de Longchamp. He also has a string of Group 1/Grade 1 placings to his name, including when finishing second twice in the Sussex Stakes and ending his racing career with a fast-finishing second place in the Breeders' Cup Mile last Saturday.

“Circus Maximus is very tough and travels with a lot of speed,” said his trainer Aidan O’Brien. “He’s that type of horse that can often make very good stallions. We’ll definitely be breeding to him.”

Circus Maximus hails from the family of the Coolmore America-based stallion Munnings whose fee has increased fourfold since he initially retired to stud.

A fee for Circus Maximus will be announced shortly.

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