Read 'em and weep: the brilliant hand of two-year-olds held by Galileo

Hermosa and Magical flaunted the brilliant class their sire Galileo regularly transmits to his offspring in their big-race successes in recent days, but did so in contrasting styles – each exhibiting different facets of the Coolmore phenomenon's brilliance.

While Hermosa embodied the mental fortitude and will to win that Aidan O'Brien has often pinpointed in Galileo's stock, by making all and responding generously to jockey Wayne Lordan's urging to repel all-comers in the 1,000 Guineas, Magical stalked stablemate and paternal half-brother Flag Of Honour in the Mooresbridge Stakes and showed a turn of foot typical of many of the sire's runners to sail past and score by a cosy one and a half lengths.

Hermosa, Magical and Flag Of Honour were all Group winners at two and although it is only early May, the appetite is well and truly whetted for the next batch of two-year-old runners by the sire – even if we shouldn't expect to see them appear in sizeable numbers for some weeks.

The 2017 crop is, it should go without saying, replete with offspring of, or siblings to, Group/Grade 1 winners. A very special select few are both; they include:

• Heaven Of Heavens, a sister to Magical and Rhododendron out of Halfway To Heaven
• Snow, a sister to Kew Gardens out of Chelsea Rose
• Toddilea, a half-sister to Queen's Jewel out of Safari Queen
• Unnamed brother to Foundry out of Sharp Lisa

Where next? How about siblings to not one, not two, but three Group/Grade 1 winners? Yes, such is the quality contained in Galileo's book that there are multiple instances:

• Salsa, a sister to Hermosa, Hydrangea and The United States (out of Beauty Is Truth)
• Vatican City, a brother to Gleneagles, Happily and Marvellous (out of You'resothrilling)
• Unnamed sister to Forever Together and Together Forever, and half-sister to Lord Shanakill (out of Green Room)

Then there are the Galileo two-year-olds out of your common or garden dams of two Group/Grade 1 winners, namely:

• Kipling, a brother to Seventh Heaven and half-brother to Crusade (out of La Traviata)
• Unnamed brother to Ballydoyle and Misty For Me (out of Butterfly Cove)
• Unnamed brother to Churchill and Clemmie (out of Meow)

The following are siblings to one Group/Grade 1 winner at the moment, but they and their older siblings could easily elevate their dams to producers of multiple Group/Grade 1 winners:

• Amma Grace, a half-sister to Free Eagle (out of Polished Gem)
• Arrow Of Gold, a half-brother to Golden Horn (out of Fleche D'Or)
• Blissful, a half-sister to Nayarra (out of Massarra)
• Dawn Patrol, a half-brother to Pour Moi (out of Gwynn)
• Emperor Of The Sun, a half-brother to Zoustar (out of Zouzou)
• Game Changer, a half-brother to Seismos (out of Sasuela)
• Gauntlet, a half-brother to Danedream (out of Danedrop)
• Law Of One, a three-parts brother to Cloth Of Stars (out of Strawberry Fledge)
• Monument Valley, a half-brother to Main Sequence (out of Ikat)
• Nobel Prize, a brother to Highland Reel (out of Hveger)
• Passion, a sister to Capri (out of Dialafara)
• Petit Mustique, a sister to Johannes Vermeer (out of Inca Princess)
• Satin And Silk, a half-sister to Materiality (out of Wildwood Flower)
• Toronto, a half-brother to Canford Cliffs (out of Mrs Marsh)
• Venus, a half-sister to Garswood (out of Penchant)
• Warrior Queen, a sister to Deauville (out of Walklikeanegyptian)
• Unnamed sister to Alice Springs (out of Aleagueoftheirown)
• Unnamed half-brother to Astaire (out of Runway Dancer)
• Unnamed half-sister to Blue Bunting (out of Miarixa)
• Unnamed three-parts brother to Earl Of Tinsdal (out of Earthly Paradise)
• Unnamed sister to Maybe (out of Sumora)
• Unnamed half-sister to Mukhadram (out of Magic Tree)
• Unnamed sister to Kingsbarns (out of Beltisaal)
• Unnamed half-brother to Novellist (out of Night Lagoon)
• Unnamed sister to Roderic O'Connor (out of Secret Garden)
• Unnamed brother to The Gurkha (out of Chintz)
• Unnamed half-brother to Tiggy Wiggy (out of Kheleyf's Silver)
• Unnamed three-parts brother to Trading Leather (out of Night Visit)
• Unnamed brother to Was (out of Alluring Park)
• Unnamed sister to Winter (out of Laddies Poker Two)

Furthermore, there are plenty of progeny of Group/Grade 1-winning mares, some of whom are too young to have been represented by runners, some of whom have produced Group winners but not quite Group 1 winners – yet:

• Alikova, a filly out of Goldikova
• Celestial Object, a filly out of Sea Siren
• Celtic High King, a colt out of Homecoming Queen
• Coventry, a colt out of Moonstone
• Delta's Royalty, a filly out of – and the only offspring of – Royal Delta
• Dusk, a filly out of Dank
• Florence Camille, a filly out of Discreet Marq
• Girls Can, a filly out of We Are
• Keats, a colt out of Airwave
• Kells, a colt out of Christmas Kid
• Magic Attitude, a filly out of Margot Did
• Meridiana, a filly out of Midday
• Miss Lara, a filly out of Miss France
• Mr G, a colt out of Giofra
• Numen, a colt out of Divine Proportions
• Relocate, a colt out of Mizdirection
• Russian Emperor, a colt out of Atlantic Jewel
• Second Glance, a filly out of Rosdhu Queen
• Vermilion Cliffs, a colt out of Gilt Edge Girl
• War Cabinet, a colt out of Simply Perfect
• Yankee Stadium, a colt out of Switch
• Year Of The Tiger, a colt out of Tiggy Wiggy
• Unnamed colt out of Acoma
• Unnamed colt out of Again
• Unnamed filly out of Luas Line
• Unnamed colt out of Melito
• Unnamed filly out of Nechita

There are many other beautifully bred Galileo two-year-olds to look forward to besides those direct relations to Group/Grade 1 winners – for example Chairman Power, a three-parts brother to Star Terms out of Best Terms; Delta Dawn, a colt out of Hermosa's Group 1-placed half-sister Fire Lily; and Golden Pelican, a closely related sister to Ernest Hemingway and Toulifaut out of Cassydora.

Also Hysterical, a sister to Platinum Warrior out of Laugh Out Loud; Love, a half-sister to Lucky Kristale; and Tiger Moth, a half-brother to Coach House out of Lesson In Humility.

Not to mention a brother to Bondi Beach; a brother to Japan, Secret Gesture and Sir Isaac Newton; a half-brother to Caspian Prince and Spirit Quartz; a filly out of New Zealand Group 2 winner Fix; a colt out of Lightning Thunder; and a brother to stakes winners Beacon Rock, Bound, Bye Bye Baby and Wedding Vow out of Remember When. All of those await being named.

Bear in mind, too, that for reasons of space the achievements of some of the above-named mares have been abbreviated. Keats, for instance, is also a half-brother to Meow, the dam of Churchill and Clemmie, while Coventry is a sibling to five stakes winners in Nelson, Nevis, Stubbs, Words and US Army Ranger.

In all, the 158 mares covered by Galileo in 2016 – 73 of them Group/Graded winners – produced 136 foals now aged two. That is actually 11 more than were in his current three-year-old crop, to which Hermosa belongs.

For the record, 21 of the 158 mares the multiple champion sire received in 2016 were by Danehill, to replicate the famous cross that produced Frankel among 11 Group/Grade 1 winners. Another 12 mares were by Danehill's son Danehill Dancer, and a further 30 were by assorted sons of Danehill and Danehill Dancer.

So, around 40 per cent of the book that year were Danehill-line mares; a resounding vote of confidence of what is perceived to be a wonder nick but one that will perhaps provide more cause for concern over a narrowing of the thoroughbred gene pool in Europe.

Only six mares among Galileo's harem in 2016 were by Pivotal, but that figure will surely have risen subsequently and intensified especially this year as the Cheveley Park Stud stalwart has demonstrated his effectiveness as a broodmare sire. Indeed, Hermosa and Magical are out of the high-class Pivotal mares Beauty Is Truth and Halfway To Heaven, the latter also dam of Rhododendron.

Detailing the sheer quality contained in Galileo's book, dropping Group 1 name after Group 1 name, might be considered an exercise in monotony. But for those interested in pedigrees, it is fascinating to witness first hand the story of one of the best sires of the modern era unfold.

Particularly breathtaking is the slick symbiosis between the cornerstones of Coolmore's success – their champion sire, the outstanding broodmare band they have assembled and their principal trainer Aidan O'Brien – that has resulted in so many high-class horses such as Hermosa and Magical.

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