Bloodstock Bites: Galileo strikes again

Chris Hill reflects on the latest news from the bloodstock world including another Classic success for super sire Galileo.

With a Classic double last weekend aboard Gleneagles (Galileo) and Legatissimo (Danehill Dancer), Ryan Moore made the best possible start to his new position as first-choice jockey for the racing and breeding powerhouse Coolmore.

Probably the best bred contender in the field and already holder of the best form in the book, having finished first past the post in two Group One races last season after which he was crowned Champion Irish Two-Year-Old, Gleneagles (Galileo) was a comfortable two-and-a-quarter length winner of the 2000 Guineas, becoming trainer Aidan O’Brien’s seventh winner of the Newmarket colts Classic.

Bred by the You’resothrilling Syndicate out of the 2007 Group Two Cherry Hinton Stakes and Group Three Swordlestown Stud Sprint Stakes winner You’resothrilling (Storm Cat), a full sister to O’Brien’s six-time Group One winning ‘Iron Horse’ Giant’s Causeway (Storm Cat), Gleneagles is a full brother to last year’s Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Marvellous (Galileo) and their two-year old sibling, a filly also by Galileo, has already been given the rather ominous name Coolmore.

In contrast to the exploits of O’Brien, the victory of the three-year-old filly Legatissimo (Danehill Dancer) in the 1000 Guineas was the first in a British Classic for her trainer David Wachman, with it also forming the first leg of a black-type double on the day for her now retired sire Danehill Dancer with Jazzi Top (Danehill Dancer) a taking winner of the Listed Pretty Polly Stakes just over an hour later.

Purchased by M V Magnier for 350,000 guineas at the 2013 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Legatissimo is a half-sister to the twelve furlong winner Another Cocktail (Dalakhani) out of the winning mare Yummy Mummy (Montjeu), a full sister to the five-time Group One winner and 2011 Ascot Gold Cup hero Fame And Glory (Montjeu) from the family of the 2013 Champion European miler Farhh.

Across the Atlantic, the first leg of the fabled Triple Crown, the Grade One Kentucky Derby saw last year’s Champion Two-Year-Old Colt American Pharoah (Pioneerof The Nile) run out a narrow one length winner under Victor Espinoza ahead of Firing Line (Line of David).

Trained by Bob Baffert and running in the colours of Egyptian owner Ahmed Zayat, American Pharoah was purchased by Ingordo Bloodstock for $300,000 at the 2013 Fasig-Tipton Select Yearling Sale. One of two winners out of the unplaced mare Littleprincessemma (Yankee Gentleman), a half-sister to the Grade Two Lazaro Barrera Memorial Stakes winner Storm Wolf (Stormin Fever) and the Grade Three Old Hat Stakes winner Misty Rosette (Stormin Fever) American Pharoah is a half-brother to the two-time six furlong winner Xixixi (Maimonides).

In the fillies’ equivalent, the Grade One Kentucky Oaks, fifty-six-year-old jockey Kerwin Clark guided the Larry Jones-trained Lovely Maria (Majesticperfection) to a two-and-three-quarter length victory at Churchill Downs for owner Brereton Jones, the former Governor of Kentucky.

Bred in Kentucky by Olin B Gentry and Thomas B Gaines out of the unraced mare Thundercup (Thunder Gulch), a half-sister to the Grade Two Molly Pitcher Breeders’ Cup Handicap winner Rare Blend (Bates Motel), Lovely Maria is a half-sister to three other winners including the five-time winner Lil Miss Jones (Smarty Jones) and the three-time winner Above The Bar (Majestic Warrior).

The Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up and Horses in Training Sale saw three lots make six figures, the priciest of them being a juvenile Exchange Rate colt out of the three-time U.S. black-type winner Valid Lilly (Valid Expectations), who made 230,000 guineas when purchased by Charlie Gordon-Watson Bloodstock.

In total, the sale grossed 4,600,100 guineas, an increase of 16% on the previous year’s renewal, with the median price of 18,000 guineas an improvement of 13%, though the average price dropped 2% to 27,754 guineas.

At the Goffs Punchestown Sale, a new record price was set when Tom Hogan, on behalf of Jill Lamb Bloodstock, paid €280,000 for the two-time Irish bumper winner Charbel (Iffraaj), who two days earlier had finished fourth in the Grade One Punchestown Champion Bumper.

With six lots selling for six-figure sums, the sale posted an aggregate of €1,593,000, an improvement of 4% on the 2014 renewal, with the average price of €106,200 an increase of 17% and median price of €75,000 a reduction of 17% on 2014.

Chris Hill

Chris is a Pedigree Researcher for Weatherbys Ltd, the company that provides the majority of pedigrees for thoroughbreds sold at public auction in Britain and Ireland and who offer a range of products and services to suit your Bloodstock needs.

For further information please visit http://www.weatherbys.co.uk/bloodstock