Champion sire Galileo has always had a great affinity with Danehill line mares and we saw it demonstrated clearly overnight with three Group I winners bred this way in exciting two ye-rold filly Shale, Cox Plate entry Mogul and Search for a Song, who won the Group I Irish St Leger (1m6f) for the second year in a row.
Trained by Dermot Weld. Four year-old mare Search for a Song was given a cool ride by Oisin Orr, who had the mare settled at the back fo the field before powering clear to win by two lengths.
“She was trained for the day and I was quietly confident. I though Oisin switched her off beautifully. He gets horses to relax very well,” said Dermot Weld.
A homebred for Moyglare Stud, Search for a Song has four wins from nine starts and was the Joint Champion 3YO Stayer in Ireland last year.
She is a three-quarter sister to Group I winner and promising young sire Free Eagle being the best of 10 winners from 10 foals to race from Danehill’s blue hen Polished Gem, whose 10 winners include a remarkable six stakes-winners.
Bred on the exact same Galileo x Danehill cross is the Aidan O’Brien trailed three year-old colt Mogul, who posted his first Group I victory when taking out the Group Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp (1m4f).
A Group II winner last year, Mogul has been thereabouts in good races this year including a sixth in the Epsom Derby and put it altogether for this performance surging away to win by two and a half lengths.
His success emulated that of his full brother Japan, who won the same race last year.
“Mogul is in the Arc, he's in in Australia and there's the Champion Stakes so he doesn't have to go [to the Arc], said Aidan O’Brien.
“We were thinking of going back to a mile and a quarter. He could go to America, he could go to Hong Kong so there's a lot of options for him. He's also in the Caulfield Cup and the Cox Plate.”
Bought for 3.4million guineas from the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Mogul is the second Group I winner for blue hen Shastye, who has six winners, five of them stakes-winners .
Galileo’s third Group I winner was two year-old filly Shale, who won the Group I Moyglare Stud Stakes (7f) at the Curragh for Donnacha O’Briena and Ryan Moore.
Shale shas kept improving at every start and score a three-quarter length win her taking her overall record to three wins and a second from five starts.
“She was nearly first off the bridle but she really toughed it out for pressure, it was a very good performance. She has kept progressing the whole way. I imagine the Fillies Mile or the Boussac will be next, said Donnacha O'Brien.
A homebred for Coolmore, Shale is the first stakes-winner among four winners from Holy Roman Emperor’s Group I winning daughter Homecoming Queen, a three-quarter sister to European Horse of the Year Dylan Thomas.
Coolmore Australia have two sons of Galileo on their roster this spring in Churchill (IRE) and Adelaide (IRE).
