By Kelsey Riley
Two weeks removed from his death at age 23, Galileo (Ire)'s influence was keenly felt in Europe's feature races this weekend. At Ascot, Adayar (GB)-by Galileo's greatest son Frankel (GB)-became the first horse to do the Derby/King George double since Galileo himself accomplished the feat 20 years ago. On the same card, Godolphin's €260,000 Arqana Select purchase New Science (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) stamped himself a 2-year-old to watch with victory in the Listed Pat Eddery S. He is out of a Galileo mare.
Up North at York, horses from the Galileo sireline took up four of the five spots in the starting gate for the card's featured G2 York S., and they filled the first four spots home, too, with Australia (GB)'s Bangkok (Ire) denying Frankel's Juan Elcano (GB) and Mohaafeth (Ire) in a tight finish and Galileo's Armory (Ire) further back in fourth.
With the yearling sales right around the corner, owners, too, will be eagerly anticipating the catalogue releases to see which progeny of Galileo might be on the market. First up is the Arqana August Yearling Sale, where there are four on Aug. 15 and 16, including Haras de Montaigu's half-sister to Derby winner Wings Of Eagles (Fr) (Pour Moi {Ire}).
The Galileos that show up at public auction, of course, will represent just a small percentage of his 2021 yearling crop, which numbers 100. Some of the standouts of that very deep group include colts out of six-time American Grade I winner and $5-million mare Abel Tasman (Quality Road), the mare's first foal; Again (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), the Classic-winning dam of three stakes horses by Galileo; Dialafara (Fr) (Anabaa), the dam of Classic winner Capri (Ire) and two other stakes horses by Galileo; Pikaboo (GB), the dam of Galileo's 2020 champion 3-year-old filly and 2021 G1 Prince of Wales's S. winner Love (Ire); Alpha Centauri (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), the first foal for the four-time Group 1-winning mare; Godolphin's Oaks winner and stakes producer Dancing Rain (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}); champion 2-year-old filly and 2.1-million gns purchase Tiggy Wiggy (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}); dual Group 1 winner Amazing Maria (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}); five-time Grade I-winning hurdler Annie Power (Ire) (Shirroco {Ger}); G3 Albany S. winner Different League (Fr) (Dabirsim {Fr}) and G2 Queen Mary S. winner Heartache (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}), both purchased by Coolmore at auction for seven figures; and Penchant (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}), the dam of Group 1-winning sprinter and sire Garswood (GB).
Fillies from Galileo's current crop of yearlings include the progeny of Classic winner and stakes producer Beauty Parlour (GB) (Deep Impact {Jpn}); Hazariya (Ire), the dam of dual Derby winner Harzand (Ire) by Galileo's half-brother Sea The Stars (Ire) and four other stakes horses; three-time Group 1 and Classic winner Legatissimo (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}); Life Happened, the dam of G1 Queen Anne S. winner Tepin (Bernstein); Lillie Langtry (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), a Group 1 winner and dam of Galileo Classic winners Minding (Ire) and Empress Josephine (Ire); Marsha (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), the Group 1-winning sprinter and 6-million gns record breaker; another Group 1-winning sprinter in Mecca's Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}); Meow (Ire) (Storm Cat), dam of dual Guineas winner and young sire Churchill (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and his Group 1-winning full-sister Clemmie (Ire); dual Group 1-winning sprinter and 2.1-million gns mare Quiet Reflection (GB) (Showcasing {GB}); GI American Oaks winner and $3.5-million purchase Daddys Lil Darling (Scat Daddy), her first foal; Jacqueline Quest (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), the disqualified G1 1000 Guineas winner and Grade I producer; and Godolphin's GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf and G1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner Wuheida (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), her first foal.
A number of those mares returned to the 12-time champion sire the following season, a book that resulted in 87 foals this spring. Producing Galileo colts this year were Amazing Maria, Different League, Hazariya, Legatissimo, Meow, Tiggy Wiggy and Quiet Reflection, while Again, Jacqueline Quest, Mecca's Angel, Penchant and Alpha Centauri foaled fillies.
Triple Group 1 winner Wild Illusion (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) produced a Galileo filly this year as her first foal, and she was the lone mare for Godolphin in Galileo's penultimate book. Sheikh Mohammed sent two mares the year prior, and has six homebred 2-year-olds by Galileo.
Other black-type mares to produce their first foals, by Galileo, this year included Fleeting (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) and Signora Cabello (Ire), who both had fillies.
Other noteworthy mares to produce foals by Galileo this year include G2 Queen Mary S. scorer Acapulco (Scat Daddy), who had a colt; Group 1 producer Beauty Is Truth (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) and her daughter Fire Lily (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), who both had colts; Chintz (Ire), who produced a full-sister to dual Group 1-winning miler The Gurkha (Ire); Danedrop (Ire) (Danehill), who foaled a half-brother to G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. victress Danedream (Ger) (Lomitas {GB}); Devoted To You (Ire), whose colt is a full-brother to G1 Irish Derby winner Sovereign (Ire); Kheleyf's Silver (Ire), who produced a half-brother to Tiggy Wiggy; American champion Lady Eli (Divine Park), who produced a colt; Palace (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), who foaled a full-brother to this year's one-time Derby favourite High Definition (Ire); Peter Brant's $3.6-million mare Quidura (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who foaled a colt; Red Evie (Ire) (Intikhab), whose filly is a full-sister to G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and GI Breeders' Cup Turf winner Found (Ire) as well as Best In The World (Ire), dam of this year's top 3-year-old filly Snowfall (Jpn) and Divinely (Ire), who hit the board in both the English and Irish Oaks; Strawberry Fledge (Kingmambo), whose colt is a half-brother to Group 1 winner and two-time Arc placegetter Cloth Of Stars (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}); and Coolmore's $8-million G1 Queen Anne S. winner Tepin, who foaled a filly.
The steady march of summer into autumn means that we are likely to soon starting seeing what the latest crop of Galileo 2-year-olds has in store. Galileo has had eight starters from his current crop of juveniles with three placed including Minding (Ire) and Empress Josephine (Ire)'s full-sister Tuesday (Ire), who split Alpha Centauri (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire})'s full-sister Discoveries (Ire) and last weekend's smart maiden winner Mise Le Meas (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) when second at The Curragh on June 25. Galileo's 2018 book of mares was, naturally, as star-studded as ever, and other siblings to Classic winners gearing up for their debuts include Toy (Ire), the eighth foal and eighth Galileo out of the remarkable producer You'resothrilling, and therefore a full-sister to Classic winners Gleneagles (Ire), Marvellous (Ire) and Joan Of Arc (Ire); Downing Street (Ire), a full-brother to last year's Derby winner Serpentine (Ire); Twinkle (Ire), a full-sister to the prior year's Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck (Ire); One Way (Ire), a full-sister to Classic winner and Group 1 producer Misty For Me (Ire) and G1 Prix Marcel Boussac scorer Ballydoyle (Ire); and Gulliver's Travels (Ire), a half-brother to G1 Irish Oaks winner Chicquita (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) and exciting 3-year-old filly Philomene (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and full-brother to Group 1 winner Magic Wand (Ire) who cost Coolmore €2-million at Arqana last summer.
Other standouts on pedigree among the current Galileo 2-year-olds are Oriental World (Ire), Godolphin's half-brother to dual G1 Dubai World Cup winner Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}) and four other stakes winners; Ingres (Ire), a colt who is the first foal out of the triple Group 1 winner Esoterique (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}); Nova Legend (Ire), a half-brother to Group 1-winning juvenile and young sire Shalaa (Ire); Denver (Ire), a full-brother to multiple Group 1-winning mares Magical (Ire) and Rhododendron (Ire); Figlio Del Re (Ire), a colt out of the triple Grade I winner I'm A Chatterbox (Munnings) who has been exported to the U.S.; Electress (GB), a filly who is the third foal out of G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Just The Judge (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}); Magical Lagoon (Ire), a half-sister to King George winner Novellist (Ire) (Monsun {Ger}); Champagne (Ire), a full-sister to Found, Divinely and Snowfall's dam Best In The World; Skylark (GB), a full-sister to Group 1 winners Mogul (GB) and Japan (GB) who cost Coolmore 3.4-million gns last year; First Emperor (GB), a half-brother to this year's G1 Falmouth S. winner Snow Lantern (GB) (Frankel {GB}); Astrologia (Ire), the first foal out of the beautifully bred G3 Musidora S. winner So Mi Dar (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}); Georges Seurat (Ire), a colt who is the first foal out of six-time Grade I winner and $6-million mare Stellar Wind (Curlin); General Idea (GB), the second foal out of The Queen's Australian Group 1 winner Sweet Idea (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}); and History (Ire), a filly who is the first foal out of multiple graded stakes winner Prize Exhibit (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) who made 2.8-million gns at Tattersalls last year. Others that have 2-year-olds by Galileo include Beauty Is Truth, Chintz, Dancing Rain, Danedrop, Dialafara, Fire Lily, Life Happened, Quiet Reflection, Tepin and Tiggy Wiggy.
While the loss of Galileo will be heavily felt for years to come, so too will his enduring legacy, not least through his final four crops.
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