With his name in the pedigree of all but one runner in Saturday’s Gr1 Investec Derby, it always looked likely that the world’s premier sire, Galileo, would exert a strong influence in the finish of The Blue Riband.
And so it proved, with Galileo colt, Anthony Van Dyck, winning from Madhmoon (sired by Galileo’s classic winning grandson, Dawn Approach), third place finisher, Japan (Galileo), and fourth placed Broome (sired by Galileo’s Epsom Derby winning son, Australia).
ANTHONY VAN DYCK (Galileo x Believe N Succeed) wins the G1 Epsom Derby. Ridden by Seamie Heffernan. Photo – Bronwen Healy. The Image is Everything. Bronwen Healy Photography.
Sarah Whitelaw writes that Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) also made his mark in Friday’s Gr1 Investec Oaks, with his unbeaten son, Frankel, supplying the Oaks winner, Anapurna.
The latter won the Oaks by a neck, from Pink Dogwood (by a grandson of Sadler’s Wells), to extend the remarkable Epsom dominance exerted by Sadler’s Wells and his sons and grandsons. Interestingly, Anapurna’s outstanding sire, Frankel, is bred on similar lines to Anthony Van Dyck, with Frankel being sired by Galileo out of a Danehill mare, and Anthony Van Dyck being a son of Galileo out of a daughter of Danehill’s champion sire son, Exceed And Excel.
Exceed And Excel
Remarkably, despite being a champion sprinter, Exceed And Excel is now damsire of two Derby winners this year – he is also damsire of the 2019 Gr1 New Zealand Derby winner, Crown Prosecutor, with the latter being sired by a grandson of Sadler’s Wells!
Not surprisingly, given his complete dominance of the modern day stud-book, both Epsom classic winners carry multiple lines of Northern Dancer.
Anthony Van Dyck, whose own damsire is inbred to Northern Dancer, has four lines of Northern Dancer, while Anapurna (Frankel being yet another inbred to the great Canadian) has three lines of the great stallion. Galileo went close to enjoying a Gr1 treble at Epsom last week, with his multiple Gr1 winning son, Kew Gardens, finishing second in the Investec Coronation Cup.
With Anthony Van Dyck claiming the 2019 Investec Derby, he provided Galileo with a remarkable fourth success in the race, placing the former Epsom Derby winner alongside Sir Peter Teazle, Waxy, Cyllene, Blandford, and Montjeu. The latter, like Galileo, was by Sadler’s Wells, whose influence on the Epsom classics appears unparalleled. Galileo’s sire sons now also look poised to make their mark on the Derby, with his Derby winning son, New Approach, having supplied 2018 winner, Masar, as well as 2013 Derby runner up, Libertarian. Another son, the triple Gr1 winner Rip Van Winkle, is the sire of 2019 Derby Italiano victor, Keep On Fly.
Galileo
This year has been remarkable for Galileo, whose influence has been felt in each of the four British classics run. Epsom aside, Galileo is also the sire of 2019 Gr1 Qipco 1000 Guineas winner, Hermosa, (who subsequently won the Irish equivalent), and he is also the broodmare sire of 2019 Gr1 Qipco 2000 Guineas winner, Magna Grecia (Invincible Spirit).
It would take a brave person to take odds against the prospect of Galileo’s descendants playing a role in the 2019 St Leger.
His sons, Capri and Kew Gardens, having won the last two St Legers respectively. In total, the progeny of Galileo have now captured 16 English classics-and have also won all of the French and Irish classic races at least once. His influence was also to the fore at Chantilly on Sunday, with Galileo daughter Starlet’s Sister responsible for Gr1 Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) hero Sottsass.
Sadler’s Wells
Galileo’s sire, Sadler’s Wells, was if anything even more dominant in the weekend’s British classics than his greatest sons, with each of the 13 runners in the Derby descended in male line from Sadler’s Wells. Urban Sea, dam of Galileo, also appears in each of the pedigrees of each 2019 Investec Derby runner.
Brilliant filly, Anapurna, is also inbred to Sadler’s Wells, being sired by a son of Galileo (by Sadler’s Wells) and out of a mare by Montjeu (by Sadler’s Wells). She is the second Investec Oaks winner in three years to be inbred to Sadler’s Wells, with Enable – arguably the best Oaks winner this century – another inbred to the mighty sire. No doubt many more major classic winners will be inbred to Sadler’s Wells, and, in time, to Galileo himself.
Looking at the Oaks run in recent years, the sheer dominance of Sadler’s Wells and Galileo is well and truly felt.
Minding – a champion and Horse Of The Year
The last Oaks winner not to carry at least one line of Sadler’s Wells was Dancing Rain (who won in 2011), with Taghrooda (by Galileo’s half-brother, Sea The Stars) (2014) and Qualify (2015) being produced by daughters of Sadler’s Wells and Galileo respectively, and Was, Talent, Minding, Enable, Forever Together, and Anapurna (ie six of the last eight Oaks winners) are directly descended from Galileo himself.
Galileo has now a trio of Oaks winners to his name (Was, Minding and Forever Together), with his sons, Nathaniel, New Approach and Frankel, having all supplied one Investec Oaks winner apiece.
Sadler’s Wells, however, still outstrips Galileo as a sire of Oaks winners, with the legend having sired all of Salsabil (1990), Intrepidity (1993), Moonshell (1995), Imagine (2001), and Alexandrova (2006). The Sadler’s Wells/Galileo influence promises to continue to be felt in the major European classics for years to come, with a plethora of young sires, such as Australia and Gleneagles to name but two, suggesting this male line will grow from strength to strength.
