Gleneagles' stallion career takes flight as Southern Hills wins Windsor Castle

Gleneagles' burgeoning stallion career took a significant step forward during day two of Royal Ascot, when his first-crop son Southern Hills surged up the stand-side rail to land the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes by half a length.

Southern Hills becomes the first stakes scorer sired by Gleneagles, who stood at Coolmore in 2019 at a fee of €30,000, and his fourth winner overall having gone into the Royal Ascot contest as a maiden.

The Aidan O'Brien-trained colt is one of 109 foals from Gleneagles' debut crop, which was conceived in 2016 at a fee of €60,000. There should be plenty more to come from the son of Galileo's two-year-olds, as his high-quality first book contained 70 stakes-performing mares (47 per cent), among which were 26 Group winners (17 per cent).

While Gleneagles is best remembered for his exploits at three, when he swept the Anglo-Irish 2,000 Guineas and the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, he was also a Group 1-winning juvenile, having landed the National Stakes.

He also finished first past the post in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere but was demoted to third after being deemed to have hampered eventual winner Full Mast in the run to the line.

Gleneagles struts his stuff at CoolmoreCredit: Patrick McCann

Gleneagles' bright start at stud is entirely in-keeping with his own pedigree as not only is he a son of Galileo, a rapidly growing force as a sire of sires, but he comes from a female line steeped in success at stud.

He is out of You'resothrilling and therefore a brother to Group 1 winners Marvellous and Happily, as well as the Group 3-winning Coolmore and Listed scorer Taj Mahal. In turn, You'resothrilling is by Storm Cat out of the influential Mariah's Storm, making her a sister to the mighty Giant's Causeway and the leading New York stallion Freud.

Owned and bred by the Coolmore partners of John Magnier, Micheal Tabor and Derrick Smith, Southern Hills is the second foal out of Remember You, a daughter of Invincible Spirit who joined the Coolmore fold when purchased as a yearling by Demi O'Byrne for 300,000gns.

Remember You broke her maiden at two and went on to finish runner-up to Great White Eagle in the Round Tower Stakes, before being retired after a truncated three-year-old campaign. Her first foal, the Australia filly I Remember You, is also a winner, and she has a yearling colt by Galileo in the pipeline.

The Windsor Castle Stakes result means that Galileo has now appeared in the immediate generations of four winners at this year's Royal Ascot. His sired the St James's Palace Stakes winner Circus Maximus, while he is also the grandsire of The Grand Visir, by Frankel, and Dashing Willoughby, a son of Nathaniel.

Gleneagles has two chances to bag a second Royal Ascot winner, with Precious Moments, the most expensive progeny of her sire having cost 500,000gns, declared in the Albany Stakes, while Highland Chief is due to contest the Chesham Stakes on Saturday.

Gleneagles becomes the fifth freshman sire to supply a stakes winner in Europe this season, following on from Brazen Beau (Avengers Queen, Listed Premio Mario E Vittorio Crespi), Due Diligence (Good Vibes, Listed Marygate Fillies' Stakes), Outstrip (Flippa The Strippa, Listed National Stakes) and Sidestep (Real Appeal, Listed Prix la Fleche).

More Royal Ascot news:

Regally bred Crystal Ocean a fitting Group 1 winner at Royal Ascot

Breakthrough Group winner for Slade Power as Raffle Prize lands Queen Mary

A pedigree in pictures: Circus Maximus becomes Galileo's 78th Group 1 winner