Bred for greatness: Alpha Centauri produces Galileo colt as first foal

Alpha Centauri, the four-time Group 1 winner and European champion three-year-old filly of 2018, has delivered her first foal – a colt by Coolmore phenomenon Galileo.

Coolmore shared pictures of the beautifully bred new arrival, owned by the Niarchos family, on social media on Friday.

Alpha Centauri hails from the Niarchos family's most famous family as she is out of Alpha Lupi, an unraced daughter of Rahy and dual French Classic heroine East Of The Moon.

East Of The Moon was in turn by Private Account out of the exceptional mare Miesque, a ten time Group/Grade 1 winner who also produced top miler and influential sire Kingmambo and is ancestress of numerous high-class horses.

Alpha Centauri, East Of The Moon and Kingmambo are among ten top-level winners descended from Miesque in the distaff line, along with Amanee, Karakontie, Loves Only You, Real Steel, Rumplestiltskin, Study Of Man and Tapestry.

Miesque appears in the pedigrees of many other celebrities thanks primarily to the stud exploits of Kingmambo.

Alpha Centauri upheld family honour by winning the Irish 1,000 Guineas, Coronation Stakes, Falmouth Stakes and Prix Jacques le Marois, all in impressive fashion, in a glittering three-year-old campaign for Jessica Harrington.

Her immediate pedigree could improve even further in the months ahead as her three-year-old half-sister Alpine Star, by Sea The Moon, is a leading Classic contender for the same connections after winning the Debutante Stakes last season.

Alpha Centauri wins the Irish 1,000 GuineasCredit: Patrick McCann

Galileo, sire of a record-equalling 84 Group/Grade 1 winners, has had only one runner out of a daughter of Alpha Centauri's sire Mastercraftsman: the unplaced three-year-old colt Flying Scotsman.

But the cross of Galileo over Mastercraftsman's sire Danehill Dancer has been heavily mined and produced elite winners Alice Springs, Circus Maximus, Minding, Sovereign and The Gurkha.

The Galileo-Danehill cross, meanwhile, is one of the most famous in modern breeding, with Cape Of Good Hope, Cima De Triomphe, Deauville, Frankel, Golden Lilac, Highland Reel, Intello, Japan, Maybe, Noble Mission, Roderic O'Connor, Romantica, Search For A Song and Teofilo – as well as Alpha Centauri's close relation Tapestry – among its Group/Grade 1-winning exponents.

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