More global glory days for the phenomenon Galileo with Group 1 treble

Galileo increased his unprecedented tally of top-level winners on Saturday with a global Group 1 treble featuring two new names on the list, moving the incomparable sire on to 103 individual winners in the highest sphere.

The Group 1 goldrush began in Sydney with the victory of Land Legend in the Metropolitan for Chris Waller and Legend Racing and moved on to Paris where Kyprios' stylish eighth Group 1 win was followed by a first at the highest level for Grateful, a daughter of multiple Grade 1 winner Tepin.

Land Legend is a northern hemisphere four-year-old and was bred by LNJ Foxwoods out of Landikusic, a Dansili full-sister to Group 1 Phoenix Stakes winner and Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes, Prix Jean Prat and National Stakes-placed Zoffany, who sired Group 1 winners including Albigna, Prosperous Voyage, Thunder Moon and Mother Earth.

Landikusic is also a half-sister to Group 2 winner and Group 1 Irish Derby second Rostropovich, by Frankel, and to Wilshire Boulevard, the Group 3 Anglesey Stakes winner by Holy Roman Emperor.

Their dam Tyranny is a winning Machiavellian half-sister to Grade 2 winner Spotlight, by Dr Fong, who is the dam of Bengough Stakes winner Projection and second dam of Elisa Again, Sunset Shiraz and Berkshire Rocco.

Grateful and Aidan O'Brien after the Prix de Royallieu Longchamp Credit: Edward Whitaker

Second dam Dust Dancer won the Group 3 Prix de la Nonette and is a Suave Dancer half-sister to Fred Darling winner Bulaxie, who herself became a successful broodmare.

Avenue Bloodstock snapped up Landikusic, in foal to Churchill, for just €68,000 at the Arqana December Breeding Sale last winter. She has a filly from the first crop of Sottsass and a yearling colt by Mehmas.

Tepin was a Transatlantic star triumphing in the Queen Anne Stakes and Breeders' Cup Mile, two of the highlights of a 23-race career that yielded six Group/Grade 1 wins in three different countries and on two separate continents.

The daughter of Bernstein won 13 times in all for Mark Casse and Robert Masterson and was bought for $8,000,000 by MV Magnier at Fasig-Tipton in November 2017 carrying her first foal, who would turn out to be a filly by Curlin. Named Tepin Thru Life she was unraced.

Tepin also has a five-year-old Galileo daughter named Sway but Grateful is her first to race. The three-year-old filly was bred by the Tepin Syndicate and won her maiden on her seasonal reappearance this year before stepping up in trip for the Group 3 Stanerra Stakes, which produced her first black-type win. 

Grateful was third behind Nakheel and Night Sparkle in the Group 2 Park Hill Fillies' Stakes at Doncaster's St Leger meeting and came late down the outside of the Longchamp straight to win the Prix de Royallieu for Christophe Soumillon and Aidan O'Brien. It was her first start in Group 1 company and her victory ensure she is the 103rd individual Group 1 winner for her incomparable sire.

Kyprios (Ryan Moore) after winning the Prix du Cadran LongchampCredit: Edward Whitaker

She has a year-younger half-brother by Dubawi named Delacroix who also races for the Coolmore partners and was second in the Group 2 Champions Juvenile Stakes at Leopardstown during the Irish Champions Festival. Delacroix holds an entry in the Group 1 Doncaster Futurity Trophy later this month.

Sandwiched in between those two victories was a milestone win in the Prix du Cadran for Kyprios, as his Longchamp success was the eighth Group 1 win of his racing career. 

The victory places Kyprios alone among Aidan O'Brien's multiple Group 1 winners as he is the first horse O'Brien has trained to win that many races at the highest level. 

Previously Kyprios had been tied with champions Minding, Magical and Highland Reel as O'Brien's most successful horses and all three are by Galileo.

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