Galileo’s Magical Emphatic On Her Return

[Wandering Eyes]

After mixing it with Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), Saturday’s G3 Alleged S. at Naas represented far easier pickings for Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) but for the fact that she had a five-pound penalty, was meeting two domestic Classic winners and several other classy rivals. Added to that the fact that Ballydoyle often leave plenty to work on with their older horses on their seasonal returns and what resulted was affirmation that she is a quality performer who will be a force to be reckoned with in 2019. Always travelling well within her comfort zone off the strong pace in a share of third, the even-money favourite cruised by the G1 Irish St Leger hero Flag of Honour (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) with 1 1/2 furlongs remaining and drew away to win by 4 1/2 lengths. The same margin separated her stablemate and last year’s G1 Irish Derby hero Latrobe (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) in what could only be described as a strong piece of form. “We are delighted with her–she did lovely into the autumn and had really turned into a four-year-old,” Aidan O’Brien said of the G1 Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares S. heroine and GI Breeders’ Cup Turf runner-up. “She has a lot of choices. There is the [G2] Mooresbridge [S. at The Curragh May 6] or the [G1 Prix] Ganay [at ParisLongchamp Apr. 28], then the [G1] Tattersalls Gold Cup [at The Curragh May 26]. Hopefully, she’ll come out of this well and the lads will have a chat. The feeling is that she has done very well over the winter and there was not a lot between her and Enable in the Breeders’ Cup last year. There is plenty of condition on her for improvement. We felt that we didn’t really need to go the kind of distances we were running over last year with Flag of Honour and he could go up to a mile and a half or go to Navan for the [Apr. 28 G3] Vintage Crop if some of the other stayers aren’t ready in time. If she wasn’t there, he’d have been a very smooth winner.”

MAGICAL (IRE), f, 4, Galileo (Ire)–Halfway To Heaven (Ire) (MG1SW-Eng, G1SW-Ire & G1SP-Fr, $941,139), by Pivotal (GB).
O-Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Orpendale, Chelston & Wynatt (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien; J-Ryan Moore. €38,350. Lifetime Record: 13-5-3-0. *Full to Rhododendron (Ire), Hwt. 2yo Filly-Ire, MG1SW-Eng, G1SW-Fr, GSW & G1SP-Ire, GISP-US, $1,741,071; and Flying The Flag (Ire), GSW-Ire & GSP-SAf, $195,702.

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