Join the Kew: Galileo sires yet another Classic winner

For the second year in a row, we were treated to a fascinatingly competitive renewal of the St Leger. For the second year in a row, it was a Coolmore-owned son of Galileo who emerged triumphant in the final British Classic of the season against a high-class representative of a British-based owner-breeder.

In 2017 it was Capri who got the better of Sir Eveyln de Rothschild's homebred Crystal Ocean, and 12 months later it was Kew Gardens who successfully repelled Lord and Lady Lloyd-Webber's filly Lah Ti Dar, a daughter of Dubawi and their triple Group 1 heroine Dar Re Mi whose brother and stablemate Too Darn Hot was a smooth winner of the Group 2 Champagne Stakes in the preceding race at Doncaster.

View the result and watch race replay

The Aidan O'Brien-trained Kew Gardens, winner of the Grand Prix de Paris on his penultimate start and third in the Great Voltigeur Stakes last time out, is a third winner of the St Leger for Coolmore phenomenon Galileo after Sixties Icon, who hailed from the sire's first crop, and Capri.

Galileo is also sire of Bondi Beach, who was temporarily awarded the 2015 St Leger after first past the post Simple Verse was deemed on the day to have interfered with the runner-up, only for the original result to be later reinstated on appeal.

Kew Gardens was, like Simple Verse, bred by Barronstown Stud – meaning David and Diane Nagle's prestigious nursery has produced two of the last four winners of the St Leger.

He is the seventh foal out of Chelsea Rose, who 14 years ago this month defeated Pictavia and Saoire to land the Moyglare Stud Stakes for Con Collins and Pat Shanahan.

Chelsea Rose, a daughter of Desert King, was also a triple Listed winner and underlined her class by finishing a neck second to the great Alexander Goldrun in the Pretty Polly Stakes.

Her racing owners Tony and Frances Donnelly originally bred from the mare, and were rewarded for doing so by producing Group 3 winner and Prix Maurice de Gheest runner-up Thawaany (by Tamayuz) and the Listed-placed Hamlool (Red Ransom).

Chelsea Rose was sold in foal to Tamayuz for €450,000 to BBA Ireland on behalf of Barronstown Stud at the Goffs November Breeding-Stock Sale of 2012.

After delivering the Tamayuz filly she was carrying at the time of her sale, the mare has been mated exclusively with Galileo and she also has a two-year-old colt, yearling filly and colt foal by the perennial champion sire.

The yearling filly is set to go under the hammer as lot 298 at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Sale next month.

The Moyglare Stud Stakes – run at the Curragh on Sunday – is clearly worth much more than the prize-money on offer, as winners of the race have an excellent record as broodmares.

Kew Gardens is not the first Classic winner of 2018 out of such a mare, as 2,000 Guineas hero Saxon Warrior is out of 2011 Moyglare Stud Stakes winner Maybe.

Delano Roosevelt, a close fourth to Latrobe in the Irish Derby on his last start, is meanwhile out of the 2008 winner Again.

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