Galileo becomes the most prolific source of top-flight winners in racing history
Coolmore supersire moves on to 85, overtaking former studmate Danehill
Peaceful’s success in Saturday’s Irish 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) saw supersire Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) become the most prolific source of Group 1 winners in thoroughbred history, with 85 of his sons and daughters now having won at least one race at the top level.
The Coolmore stallion, who has been crowned champion sire in Britain and Ireland in 11 of the last 12 years, wrested the leading sire of Group/Grade 1 winners title from his former studmate Danehill (Danzig).
The pair had remained tied on 84 top-level winners apiece since Galileo’s globetrotting daughter Magic Wand landed the Mackinnon Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) at Flemington on November 9 last year.
It was supremely fitting that the Irish 1,000 Guineas provided Galileo with his record-breaking Group 1 victory, as his very first came in the 2006 renewal, when first-crop daughter Nightime – now better known as the dam of Ghaiyyath (Dubawi) – landed the fillies’ Classic for Dermot Weld.
The son of Sadler’s Wells, who has stood for a private fee since 2008, has sired many of the most recognisable names from recent European turf history, including Frankel, New Approach and Australia.
He shuttled to Australia early in his stallion career and his influence down under remains evident to this day with three of his sons – Adelaide, Churchill and Highland Reel – standing in Australia in 2020, while another, Rip Van Winkle, flies the flag in New Zealand. He is also the grandsire of 2018 Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) winner Cross Counter (Teofilo).
Peaceful (3 f ex Missvinski by Stravinsky) is already his second Group 1 scorer of the delayed British and Irish Flat season, after daughter Love ran out a commanding winner of the 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) at Newmarket.
Four runners by Galileo out of Missvinski (Stravinsky) have graced the track. Besides Peaceful they include Listed winner Easter and dual scorer El Greco, who now races in Australia under the name Yulong Emperor.
Missvinski has no two-year-old produce but she is the dam of a yearling sister to Peaceful and co.
Peaceful is bred on the same Galileo-Stravinsky cross as the sire’s three-time Group 1 winner Rip Van Winkle, who stands at Windsor Park Stud in NZ for a fee of NZ$12,500.