Galileo’s Derby Monopoly

[Wandering Eyes]

All 13 colts in Saturday’s Epsom Derby are male line descendants of Sadler’s Wells, and all but one of them are sons, grandsons or great-grandsons of Galileo.

Let’s wrap our heads around that.

The craziest part may just be that, so dominant have Galileo’s descendants been in the blue riband since his third-crop son New Approach won it in 2007, it doesn’t seem that crazy that he should supply all but one of the runners in Britain’s greatest race.

What seems crazier is that it took Galileo three crops to supply that initial winner. And that, given his titanic influence on the race in the 21st century, Sadler’s Wells didn’t throw his first Derby winner–Galileo himself in 2001–until he was 20. He promptly made up for lost time by siring the following year’s winner, High Chaparral, too.

In 2005 and 2007, Motivator (GB) and Authorized (Ire), both sons of the Sadler’s Wells sire Montjeu (Ire), recorded five-length wins on the first Saturday in June, and Galileo’s former Coolmore barnmate remarkably added his third and fourth winners in Pour Moi (Ire) and Camelot (GB) in 2011 and 2012. The longshot winner Pour Moi would go on to sire another high-priced winner, Wings of Eagles (Fr), from his second crop in 2017.

Meanwhile, Galileo’s first winner, New Approach, came along in 2008, the year before Galileo’s half-brother Sea the Stars (Ire) won. Galileo would follow up Montjeu’s back-to-back winners with the same feat in 2013 and 2014 courtesy of Ruler of the World (Ire) and Australia (GB), the latter of which is the sire of two of Saturday’s runners from his first crop. After a short hiatus in 2015 and 2016-when the winners were by Cape Cross (Ire) and his son Sea the Stars-Montjeu was back in the fray in 2017 courtesy of his grandson Wings of Eagles, and Galileo last year with New Approach’s Masar (GB).

For all his success, it’s a bit surprising that Galileo hasn’t yet achieved a Derby trifecta, although he came close in 2013 with New Approach’s Libertarian (Ire) splitting Ruler of the World and Galileo Rock (Ire). He has plenty of ammunition to shoot with on Saturday, however, with six of the 13 runners. Five of those (Anthony Van Dyck, Circus Maximus, Japan, Line of Duty, and Sovereign) are from Danehill-line mares-that magical cross that has left the likes of Frankel (GB), Highland Reel (Ire), Minding (Ire), Teofilo (Ire) and Intello (Ger)-while Norway (Ire) is out of a daughter of Kingmambo, so bred similarly to Camelot.

Australia has a pair of live chances for a first-crop Derby winner in Broome (Ire) and Bangkok (Ire). New Approach’s champion 2-year-old and Guineas-winning son Dawn Approach (Ire) is the sire of Madhmoon (Ire), who is an interesting contender at 11-1 after showing plenty of quality at two and running a respectable race to be fourth in the Guineas. Dawn Approach was favourite for the 2013 Derby, but the experiment to test whether he could stay proved inconclusive after his lost his cool at the start and pulled Kevin Manning through the entire race and was virtually eased late on to finish last. New Approach has a shot to land his second Derby as a sire with Telecaster (GB), the G1 Dante S. winner who was supplemented for the Derby.

When talking descendants of Galileo, one name that is missing is that of his best son Frankel (GB). And while that unbeaten superstar is not represented in the blue riband, he made amends on Friday when Anapurna (GB)-one of his three representatives–took out the Oaks to become his first British Classic winner. Frankel’s full-brother Noble Mission (GB) deputizes in the Derby with first-crop son Humanitarian, who was bought by Godolphin at Keeneland September for $200,000 and races in the silks of Sheikh Mohammed’s young son Sheikh Zayed. Also stirring memories of Frankel (GB) is Nathaniel (Ire), who bookended his racing career with second-place finishes behind the great horse and who is the sire of Derby longshot Hiroshima (GB).

They could all be usurped, however, by the lone runner not from the Galileo line in the favourite, Sir Dragonet (Ire), a son of the 2012 Derby winner Camelot, by Montjeu. However, run Sir Dragonet’s pedigree and who will you find? Galileo. The G3 Chester Vase winner’s second dam, All Too Beautiful (Ire), is Galileo’s full-sister. Which reminds us, if we really needed it, of the homage that must be paid to their iconic matriarch Urban Sea (Miswaki). The 1993 G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner’s profound influence on this race since the turn of the century has been solidified not only by Galileo but also Sea The Stars, sire of the 2016 Derby winner Harzand from his third crop. Urban Sea featured on both the top and bottom of the pedigree of last year’s winner Masar, who was inbred 3×4 to her.

They say nothing is certain in racing, but this Saturday something is: yet another Derby will go the way of the Sadler’s Wells sireline.

The post Galileo’s Derby Monopoly appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

View the full article