Oaks heroine Love the result of a match between Galileo and a Cinderella mare

The Oaks on Saturday demonstrated yet again how the breeding industry revolves around Galileo.

Coolmore's phenomenal sire supplied his fourth winner of the Epsom Classic as 1,000 Guineas heroine Love stormed to a nine-length victory.

Full result and watch race replay

Love is the second Galileo filly to complete this particular Classic double, after Minding four years ago.

Minding was the sire's second Oaks winner, following Was in 2012 and preceding Forever Together in 2018.

It was a one-two for Galileo at Epsom this year, too, as Love's stablemate Ennistymon finished second, with Frankly Darling – a daughter of Galileo's masterpiece Frankel – in third.

Love, one of Galileo's world record haul of 86 Group/Grade 1 winners, was bred by her owners the Coolmore partners and is the eighth foal out of Pikaboo.

It has been something of a Cinderella story for the dam, who was plucked by Coolmore from relative obscurity after she had demonstrated she was a talented producer with just the right sire and grandsire who suit Galileo down to the ground.

Pikaboo, a daughter of Pivotal and the winning Danehill mare Gleam Of Light, was bred by Paul Venner's Petches Farm and was originally a 41,000gns foal purchase by Rathmore Stud before being resold as a yearling for 85,000gns to John Gosden.

Galileo: source of a world record 85 Group/Grade 1 winnersCredit: Patrick McCann

She showed little ability in two starts for Gosden, carrying the colours or Princess Haya of Jordan, and was offloaded at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale at the end of her three-year-old season, with David Redvers taking her home for just 20,000gns.

Pikaboo made three more starts for Stuart Williams but still did not manage a top-three finish, and she was sent to the sales again at the end of her four-year-old season, with Tally-Ho Stud signing at at 30,000gns for the filly, who had been retired with a lowly peak Racing Post Rating of 58, at Tattersalls December.

The mare's first three foals were bred by Lilac Bloodstock and Redmyre Bloodstock, all by inexpensive Tweenhills Stud stallions of the time, and the third of those, the Lucky Story filly Lucky Kristale, struck in the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes and Lowther Stakes.

Unfortunately for Lucky Kristale's breeders, they had sold Pikaboo in the December before her stellar two-year-old season – with her very first owner, Paul Venner, having taken back custody of the mare at a cost of 50,000gns.

Lucky Kristale: Love's half-sister was a high-class two-year-old sprinterCredit: Alan Crowhurst

And so it was Venner who was the beneficiary when Coolmore came knocking with a private offer to buy the mare, the Irish superpower's motivation no doubt being because she had upgraded a mating with Lucky Story to produce Lucky Kristale, and also because her sire Pivotal and damsire Danehill click so well with Galileo.

Pikaboo has been mated with Galileo every year since entering Coolmore ownership, and all three runners bred on the cross have been Pattern winners – the 2015-foaled Flattering, who won the Munster Oaks; the four-year-old filly Peach Tree, who took the Group 3 Stanerra Stakes; and now Love.

Pikaboo's page has not only been improved by her descendants. Since she was foaled in 2003 her year-younger three-parts brother Arabian Gleam landed the Challenge Stakes and two editions of the Park Stakes, and another three-parts brother, Kimberella, struck twice in the Listed Queensferry Stakes.

Pikaboo's older half-sister Light Quest became the dam of French stakes winners Skia and Tropaios, and her younger half-sister Cute has produced this season's Windsor Listed scorer Pogo.

It has been a magnificent return to form for a family that had already produced a dual Classic winner before the emergence of Love.

Pikaboo's materal granddam Gold Runner is a Runnett half-sister to Don't Forget Me, sent out by Richard Hannon snr to win both the Newmarket and Curragh 2,000 Guineas in 1987.

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