Renowned thoroughbred expert Les Young offers his thoughts - Shuttle stallions to have left Group 1 winners in both Europe and Australia constitute a small, very select group, headed by the great Danehill.
Galileo's son Teofilo is one of this elite group and it is perhaps no coincidence that his stakes winning dam Speirbhean is a daughter of Danehill, nine times champion sire in Australia, four times champion sire in the UK, three times champion sire in France and once champion sire in Hong Kong. Danehill's influence as a broodmare sire is equally impressive as he has been champion in this category seven times in Australia and has also headed the maternal grandsires' lists in the UK, France and in the United States.Danehill left a remarkable 347 stakes winners including 84 Group 1 winners while his broodmares have to date produced more than 350 black type winners with close to 70 taking Group 1 races.
Already, though, Teofilo's still active sire, champion Galileo, looks likely to match or better the achievements of Danehill as he has headed the UK sires' list for the last nine straight seasons, so far leaving more than 275 stakes winners. Similarly, Galileo may eventually challenge the record breaking run of his sire Sadler's Wells, champion UK sire 14 times, 13 of those titles in succession.
Teofilo was among the outstanding early runners for his sire being unbeaten in five starts as a two-year-old in 2006, the only season he raced, when he was judged as Europe's champion juvenile after four stakes wins, most important of them the Curragh National Stakes (Gr. 1, 1400m) and the Dewhurst Stakes (Gr. 1, 1400m) at Newmarket.
The performances of Teofilo alerted breeders to the excellence and effectiveness of mating daughters of Danehill to Galileo which is now recognised as the most spectacular cross of the modern day, a cross which has so far resulted in 12 Group 1 winners and a remarkable 15 per cent stakes winners with unbeaten champion Frankel, now one of Europe's leading sires, its greatest advertisement as Frankel was acclaimed as the best horse seen in Europe since World War II, earning a record Timeform rating of 147.
Teofilo, possessed of more speed than most Galileos , got off to a flying start to his stud career when his first crop two-year-old Parish Hall emulated his father by taking the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes in 2011 and since then has been represented by a steady stream of classic and other major winners.
To date Teofilo has no fewer than 14 Group 1 winners, nine Group 2 winners, 16 Group 3 winners and 36 Listed winners among his grand total of 75 black type winners while his stakes winners-to-runners ratio is a very high 9.3 per cent.
Teofilo is clearly outperforming his sire in regard to their Australasian bred progeny at the elite level. Teofilo has 5 Group 1 winners (recording 10 Group 1 wins), while Galileo is represented by 3 Group 1 winners (recording 3 Group 1 wins) from their southern hemisphere crops.
Interestingly, Galileo has covered more than double the amount of mares as his sire son in Australia. In fact, Teofilo has never produced more than 70 live foals in a single season. These are remarkable statistics and the strongest lead yet that Teofilo is the answer to getting the best out of the Galileo bloodline for the Australian breeder.
Winning distances of Teofilo's best performers range from 1200m to more than 3200m with many ideally suited at around 1400m to 1600m, something which helps to explain why he has worked so well in Australia where his sons Happy Clapper (currently rated equal seventh among the world's best horses), Palentino (earner of $1.3 million), Humidor, Kermadec and Sonntag have all won at Group 1 level.Gelded Happy Clapper, whose victories include the ATC Doncaster, Epsom and Canterbury Stakes, has earned more than $6.34 million, Humidor, another gelding, has won $2.81 million from wins in such top events as the VRC Australian Cup, Makybe Diva Stakes and the Blamey Stakes.
Kermadec, winner of the ATC Doncaster and George Main Stakes, has been another fine advertisement for the success of Teofilo's stock in Australia as he retired as earner of $2.9 million.
It is interesting to note that Sun Stud's young sire Palentino won two of the same feature events as Humidor, the Makybe Diva Stakes and the Blamey Stakes, but he takes on another dimension as also being a winner of the sire-making VRC Australian Guineas (Gr. 1, 1600m), a classic whose honour roll includes the great sire Zabeel (166 stakes winners including 46 Group 1 winners) not to mention champion sire Flying Spur, Reset, Al Maher and Dash For Cash.
The early stud success of Teofilo's Group 1-winning son Havana Gold in the UK is a pointer to the prospects of his well performed sons in Australia.
Palentino, linebred 4 x 4 to breed shaper Northern Dancer, defeated top class horses like Black Heart Bart, Tosen Stardom and Tarzino in his major wins.
A flashy chestnut, Palentino bears a strong resemblance to his maternal grandsire Palace Music, a Group/Grade 1 winner in both Britain and the United States.
Palace Music was champion sire in the United States in 1995 thanks to the deeds of his champion son Cigar whose 12 Grade/Group 1 successes made him the world's highest prize money winner at that time. Palace Music also did well from seasons spent in both Australia and New Zealand.
Palentino stands at Sun Stud at a fee of $17,600 with his first foals arriving this spring.
