Serpentine brings up Derby/Oaks double for Galileo and O’Brien
Just over an hour after Galileo’s (Sadler’s Wells) daughter Love took out the Oaks (Gr 1, 1m 4f), the stallion became the first since his own father in 2001 to sire the winner of the Classic double, as his son Serpentine ran away with the Derby (Gr 1, 1m 4f) at Epsom yesterday.
In one of the all-time great Derby rides, Emmet McNamara led the trip and skipped clear down the hill and around the bend. Unlike in the Oaks, he just kept going until the line to win by five and a half lengths.
Khalifa Sat (Free Eagle), ridden by Tom Marquand, was second from point to post with fellow O’Brien-trained colt Amhran Na Bhfiann (Galileo) finishing half a length away in third.
“I think I got a little bit of a freebie,” McNamara said. “I had a huge amount of confidence in the horse having spoken to Aidan during the week. He filled me with confidence.
“He said, ‘He is a horse who will stay a mile and six so jump, go your own tempo and from halfway after you give him a breather from the six to the five, you keep going to the winning post,’ and god, he was right.
“It is surreal really. I can’t believe it. A huge amount of thanks goes to Aidan and his family, I have spent a fantastic six years there and to all the owners who have shown faith in me today, I really appreciate it.”
Paul Smith, the son of co-owner Derrick Smith, was left amazed by Galileo and his ever-growing record as a sire.
“He is the holy one! He is the one that they are going to be following for many, many years and long may it last,” he said.
“When you have Galileo and you have Aidan, anything is possible! It really is! Aidan knew he would stay well, we knew that, they let him go and he just ran for fun.”
O’Brien added: “He is from a great pedigree and we always thought he would stay well.
“Wayne (Lordan) won on him at the Curragh last week over a mile and a quarter and he galloped through the line and Wayne said he couldn’t pull him up.
“We felt he would stay very well and that there was no point in waiting with him. We are delighted if any of them win and we are delighted he has done it today.”
It was a record-breaking eighth win in the Derby for O’Brien who also saddled Galileo to take out the race in 2001.
Bred and raced by Coolmore, Serpentine (3 c Galileo – Remember When by Danehill Dancer) has had four starts for two wins, earning £291,961 in prize-money.
He is one of six foals, all of whom are winners, out of 2010 Epsom Oaks runner-up Remember When (Danehill Dancer), making him a brother to stakes scorers Wedding Vow, Bye Bye Baby, Beacon Rock and Bound.
Serpentine’s second dam Lagrion (Diesis) is also responsible for multiple Group 1 winner and champion sire Dylan Thomas (Danehill) as well as Cheveley Park Stakes (Gr 1, 6f) victor Queen’s Logic (Grand Lodge), who herself produced three-time Group scorer Queen Kindly (Frankel).
Serpentine becomes the 86th individual Group 1 winner for Galileo, as well as a fifth Epsom Derby scorer which is the most for any stallion in history. The record-breaking sire stood at Coolmore Ireland for a private fee in 2020.
All about Love in runaway Oaks
Aidan O’Brien’s star filly Love (Galileo) backed up her impressive 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) victory with a nine–length romp in the Epsom Oaks (Gr 1, 1m 4f) yesterday.
Champion sire Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) was as dominant as ever, siring the the quinella as Ennistymon (Galileo), who is also trained by O’Brien, finished second with John Gosden’s Ribblesdale Stakes (Gr 2, 1m 4f) winner Frankly Darling (Frankel) a further three-quarters of a length away in third.
Passion (Galileo) and Tiempo Vuela (Lope De Vega) set an early tempo, leading the field by a considerable margin for most of the trip, but the grueling incline of the Epsom straight got the better of them and Love scooted past them with the minimum of fuss under Ryan Moore.
“It is never ideal when a race opens up like that,” Moore said. “It was a massive break but this filly is very special I think.
“She didn’t stop at all and picked up again when she got to the rail. She was very impressive. She is very, very good.”
O’Brien added: “We are delighted, obviously.
“Before the Guineas we were aware that it was a little bit short for her – we always thought she would get a mile and a quarter well, and obviously she is by Galileo and has a lovely, long, low action.
“As you see she is very genuine, sticks her head out and really tries very hard, so we were always hoping that the extra distance was going to improve her, and we were absolutely delighted with the result.
“We are in a very privileged position to have such horses to train and an incredible group of people, both here and in Coolmore, and everybody involved.
“The lads do so much, day in day out and obviously they have the mares and the stallion – the bloodlines – and the place and the facilities. It is an incredible place to be involved with.
“It is very hard to say you would ever have a better filly than her; we saw what she did in the Guineas. I don’t know how far she won that by, three or four lengths, and she doubled it today, and it is only her second run of the year.
As for where Love will head next, O’Brien said the decision would be left to her owners but he flagged the coveted Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Gr 1, 2400m) as a potential long-term target.
“We will wait and see what is next and the lads will decide that, but obviously the Irish Oaks is a possibility. We will see how she is over the next few days before we make any decisions, but that was always going to be a possibility.
“You would have to think about the Arc in the autumn. We know what three-year-old fillies can do in the Arc. We would definitely have to think about it. I guess it will all depend on how she comes out of today and whether she has a midsummer break now or gets in another run and has a break after that, but the Arc has to be a definite possibility.
“The St Leger comes three weeks or a month before the Arc, so would it be too tough for a filly to do that and then go on to the Arc? I don’t know, but I suppose we will see how she trains and what the lads want to do.”
Paul Smith, the son of Love’s co-owner Derrick Smith, was amazed by the filly’s performance.
“She did that well didn’t she? Crikey, that was impressive,” Smith said.
“I am so, so pleased for everyone at home. I’m really really happy.
“We were a little bit worried it might be a bit too tight (distance) for her in the Guineas but Ryan gave her a great ride that day and she seemed to grow an extra leg when she went up the extra half a mile today.”
Smith also credited super sire Galileo for continuing to produce superstars.
“He is phenomenal,” he said. “We are so lucky to have him and so blessed that every year he turns out champions. It is an honour to be involved with him.”
Love is the 49th filly in history to complete the Guineas/Oaks double, and the first to do it since champion mare Minding (Galileo) in 2016, who was also trained by O’Brien, ridden by Moore, owned by Coolmore and sired by Galileo. She also becomes the eighth Epsom Oaks winner for the champion Irish trainer.
Bred and raced by Coolmore, Love (3 f Galileo – Pikaboo by Pivotal) has had nine starts for five wins and two placings, earning £596,958 (A$1.07m approx) in prize-money.
She is the eighth foal, and sixth to race, out of the unplaced Pivotal (Polar Falcon) mare Pikaboo, making her a sister to Group 3 winners Peach Tree and Flattering, while she is also a half-sister to dual Group 2 scorer Lucky Kristale (Lucky Story).
Out of the Danehill (Danzig) mare Gleam Of Light, Pikaboo herself is a half-sister to triple Group 2 winner and former Ivy House Stables resident Arabian Gleam (Kyllachy) as well as dual Listed scorer Kimberella (Kyllachy).
The cross between Galileo and Pivotal mares has a 41 per cent stakes winners to runners rate, producing 12 individual stakes winners and six Group 1 scorers.
The cross is responsible for champion mare Magical and last year’s 1,000 Guineas winner Hermosa, both of whom were trained by O’Brien, as well as Ranvet Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) victor The United States.
Coolmore Ireland stalwart Galileo is the sire of 85 individual Group 1 winners, the most by any sire in history. He stood for a private fee in 2020.