Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012, Coolmore-based stallion Galileo certainly proved he had quite a six-pack. On this red-letter day the 14-year-old son of Sadler’s Wells out of the Miswaki mare Urban Sea was responsible for six winners from 14 group or listed stakes races run in Europe, three of them new additions to his already starry firmament. In England, Lay Time (Galileo—Time Saved, by Green Desert) won Windsor’s Totepool.com Winter Hill Stakes (Eng-III), Cameron Highland (Galileo—Landmark, by Arch), Windsor’s listed Totepool August Stakes, and Quest For Peace (Galileo—Play Misty For Me, by Danehill Dancer, the listed Windflower March Stakes at Goodwood. In Germany, Mikhail Glinka (Galileo—Lady Karr, by Mark Of Esteem) took the group III Preis der Sparkassen Finanzgruppe at Baden-Baden, Aigue Marine (Galileo—Aiglonne, by Silver Hawk) added the listed Prix Association Graine d’Avenir—Grand Prix de Clairefontaine in France, and Ursa Major (Galileo—Inchyre, by Shirley Heights), the listed Grain Horse Feeds Irish St Leger Trial Stakes at the Curragh.
Even more impressive for Europe’s runaway leading sire is that he bookended this stellar feat with wins by the spectacular Frankel in the group I Juddmonte International at York, Romantica in the group II Prix de la Nonette - Shadwell at Deauville, and Twirl in an Irish listed event earlier in the week; and by a 1-2 finish with 3-year-old fillies Up and Aloof in the Lanwades Stud Fillies Stakes Dance Design (Ire-III) at the Curragh on Sunday, Aug. 26.
Altogether, Galileo supplied 10 stakes winners from Aug. 21 through Aug. 26 (along with six additional black-type placings).
Pedigree folks will note that two of Galileo’s super six (Lay Time and Quest For Peace) are out of mares from the Danzig branch of the Northern Dancer line; two (Aigue Marine and Cameron Highland) represent the Roberto sire line through his son and grandson Silver Hawk and Arch, and two (Mikhail Glinka and Ursa Major) the Mill Reef branch of the Nasrullah line through Mark Of Esteem and his grandsire Shirley Heights. These six stakes winner fairly represent the broader scope of the success of Galileo with mares from these particular sire lines.
The Danzig branch of the Northern Dancer lines is responsible for at least 24 of Galileo’s 126 career stakes winners (19%), 19 of them, including seven group I winners, through Danehill or one of Danehill’s sons.
The Mill Reef line through mares by his sons and grandsons has produced 19 stakes winners (15%). These include grade/group I winners Treasure Beach, Sans Frontieres, Imperial Monarch, and Alandi. The most notable representative of Mill Reef is Darshaan, a champion and leading sire who formed a very successful nick with Galileo’s sire Sadler’s Wells. Darshaan is the broodmare sire of 12 of Galileo’s stakes winners. His son Mark Of Esteem is responsible for three others.
Roberto-line mares have also made a significant contribution. No less than 13 (10%) of Galileo’s stakes winners come from this cross. Mares by Silver Hawk lead the list with five including the full sibling 2012 group I-winning duo of Nathaniel and Great Heavens.
In this “what have you done for me lately” business, it will be interesting to see if this flurry of Galileo success will have any sway over his progeny in the Keeneland auction ring.
The upcoming Keeneland September yearling sale (Sept. 10-24) has five Galileo yearlings cataloged in books 1 and 2, most with American-oriented pedigrees. Two are out of mares by Storm Cat, who is the broodmare sire of the full Galileo sisters Misty For Me, a multiple champion and group I winner; and Twirl, recent winner of the Irish Stallion Farms E.B.F. Hurry Harriet Stakes at the Gowran Park. Hip 84 is a colt whose dam is a half sister to grade II winner A.P. Warrior (by A.P. Indy) while Hip 105 is a colt whose dam is a full sister to grade III winner The Leopard.
Other representatives of the Northern Dancer line are Hip 1019, a filly out of a stakes-winning Giant’s Causeway mare whose second dam is by Shirley Heights; and Hip 19, a filly out of the grade I stakes winner Sharp Lisa (by Dixieland Band).
Representing the Halo branch of the Hail to Reason line rather than the Roberto branch is Hip 110, a filly out of multiple group III-winning More Than Ready mare La Chunga.
