Canford Cliffs sibling becomes Galileo's first two-year-old winner of 2019

Galileo has supplied his first two-year-old winner of the year, and the bellwether representative has a fitting pedigree for Royal Ascot week.

Toronto, fifth to Mohican Heights on debut at Leopardstown for Aidan O'Brien and Coolmore partners last month, made most of the running under Emmet McNamara in a mile maiden back at the course on Thursday and only needed to be pushed out to register a cosy length victory over stablemate Arthur's Kingdom.

The runner-up, a Camelot three-parts brother to three-time Canadian Internatioal winner Joshua Tree, was making his debut and is undoubtedly one to put in the notebook as an embryonic stayer of note.

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McNamara reported after unsaddling: “Toronto was very comfortable through the race. I wasn't able to get a lead for as long as I would have liked and was left in front a bit longer than I would have liked.

“He quickened and put the race to bed off the home turn. In the last 100 yards he was starting to gear down on me a little bit. He got the mile well but he probably didn't even need to go the mile today as he showed plenty of pace.”

The reason Toronto is such an apt winner in the week of Royal Ascot – apart from him being by Galileo, whose numerous winners at the meeting include Frankel, Gleneagles, Highland Reel, Order Of St George and Winter, and Circus Maximus and South Pacific this week – is that he is a half-brother to Canford Cliffs.

Canford Cliffs achieved the outstanding feat of winning on the first day of Royal Ascot for three years in a row: in the Coventry Stakes in 2009, the St James's Palace Stakes in 2010 and the Queen Anne Stakes in 2011.

Galileo: king of all he surveys at CoolmoreCredit: Patrick McCann

The son of Tagula stood at Coolmore for six seasons but now plies his trade at Highlands Stud in South Africa. His best son Salouen was third in the Coronation Cup last time out and seeks a first Group race win in the Hardwicke Stakes on Saturday.

Canford Cliffs is one of five winners but the sole black-type performer out of his dam, the unraced 18-year-old Marju mare Mrs Marsh, but perhaps Toronto will change that soon.

Canford Cliffs was bred by Simon Hubbard Rodwell but Mrs Marsh was later sold privately to Redpender Stud, who moved her on to SF Bloodstock. In turn, that operation sold her in foal to Dansili to BBA Ireland on behalf of Coolmore for 850,000gns at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale of 2011.

Mrs Marsh – a half-sister to stakes winners Pina Colada and Triple Threat – has since been mated exclusively with Galileo and also has a yearling colt by Britain and Ireland's perennial champion sire.

Toronto will no doubt open the floodgates to a torrent of Galileo two-year-old winners in the coming weeks.

Armory (a colt out of After), Delta Dawn (a colt out of Fire Lily), Kipling (a brother to Seventh Heaven), Love (a half-sister to Lucky Kristale) and Year Of The Tiger (a colt out of Tiggy Wiggy) have all finished in the first four in first runs for O'Brien, while Lola Paige (a filly out of Timbuktu) was second on debut for William Haggas.

Year Of The Tiger is entered to make his second start in the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot on Saturday.

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