Galileo and Sea The Stars add sparkle to Moyglare matings

In line with the age-old proverb, one of the strongest influences in Moyglare Stud Farm's mighty broodmare band is the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes winner Aptostar, who was acquired by manager Stan Cosgrove at Fasig-Tipton in 1989.

The Florida-bred Fappiano mare, who placed in five further top-flight events, has left a lasting legacy through descendants such as Irish St Leger scorer Royal Diamond and Classic-placed trio Mad About You, Princess Highway and Profound Beauty.

Aptostar's granddaughter Irresistible Jewel, whose dam is the Sadler's Wells mare In Anticipation, precedes her own daughter Princess Highway on the Ribblesdale Stakes roll of honour and her branch of the family retains a strong presence at Moyglare.

"The whole family comes from one foal of Aptostar, and that was In Anticipation," says Craig. "We later sold Aptostar but In Anticipation went on to produce Irresistible Jewel. Now it's one of the biggest pedigrees that we've got."

Princess Highway and her full-sister Sansibar Jewel, both by Street Cry, reside in Kentucky with Princess Highway due to pay War Front a return visit after she foals to him this month and Sansibar Jewel booked in to Speightstown for her maiden cover.

Princess Highway has previously clicked with War Front to produce Leopardstown maiden winner Chiara Luna.

"Princess Highway is getting nice foals and it's just a suitable mating for her," says Craig. "We're hoping one of her progeny can win a Group race. Speightstown is a nice, speedy covering for Sansibar Jewel. She's a big, scopey mare and had loads of ability."

Group 3 winner Mad About You, another daughter of Irresistible Jewel whose sire is Indian Ridge, will be joined by her own daughter Malinka in Britain, where they will visit speed sires Muhaarar and Showcasing respectively. Both have exciting foals on the way, with Mad About You in foal to Dark Angel and Pivotal mare Malinka pregnant to Kodiac.

"Mad About You has a very nice yearling filly by Kodiac," says Craig. "Malinka has loads of size - I was a bit stunned where she came from - and we decided to go back to speed sires with both of them."

Irresistible Jewel's half-sister Diamond Trim, a 1m4f Listed winner, has also taken a stronghold within Moyglare pedigrees.

Her daughter Profound Beauty - the dam of dual Listed-winning miler Rose De Pierre - is due to foal to Invincible Spirit later this year, while Rose De Pierre is carrying her first foal by Siyouni and will visit Kingman.

"Profound Beauty has a very nice Kingman yearling filly on the ground that's very like her," says Craig. "We're yet to decide on a mating for her, Sapphire or Sense Of Purpose as they're foaling quite late.

"Kingman's an attractive horse for us. He suits a lot of our mares and is another angle for speed."

Diamond Trim's unraced daughter Majestic Silver, whose two-year-old Sea The Stars colt was recently named Ciel D'Afrique, has another liaison with Dubawi lined up.

"Majestic Silver has already produced a stakes winner by Dubawi in Joailliere," says Craig. "Majestic Silver's three-year-old Dansili filly Mia Maria was third on her only start last year and I was looking at her on the Curragh this morning and she's doing very nicely."

Sea The Stars has been chosen for two of Majestic Silver's daughters - the dual Group 3 winner Carla Bianca, who is in foal to Dubawi, and Listed-winning sprinter Joailliere, who has a Frankel foal in utero.

"Sparkling View has the most lovely colt by Free Eagle and will be married to him for the immediate future"

Diamond Trim's daughter Sparkling View, meanwhile, is one of three Moyglare mares lined up for home sire Free Eagle, whose first two-year-olds will hit the track this year. Sparkling View also visited the Prince of Wales's Stakes scorer last year.

"Sparkling View has the most lovely colt by Free Eagle," says Craig. "She'll be married to him for the immediate future. She's a big, scopey mare and an ideal mate for him.

"We have four Free Eagles and are very happy with all of them - they're good, solid, four-square horses with great temperaments and seem to be doing all the right things. As with all of them, we'll find out when they start going fast!"

Free Eagle is one of five elite winners to descend from Talking Picture, the champion two-year-old filly in the US in 1973 whose own daughter Trusted Partner won the Irish 1,000 Guineas and produced the Matriarch Stakes scorer Dress To Thrill, completing a three-generational sequence of top-flight winners on the distaff side.

The homebred Free Eagle will cover three of Moyglare's quality broodmare bandCredit: Caroline Norris

Talking Picture was bought by Walter Haefner from owner-breeder Maxwell H Gluck and still appears close up in Moyglare pedigrees today.

Polished Gem, her winning daughter by Danehill, is the dam of Free Eagle as well as high-class miler Custom Cut and British Champions Fillies and Mare Stakes scorer Sapphire.

Polished Gem has been a regular concubine for Galileo in recent years and will visit him for the fifth time this year, with her two-year-old filly named Amma Grace, while Sapphire's Galileo juvenile filly will race as Federica Sophia.

"Galileo is a phenomenon and there won't be another like him," says Craig. "The combination of Galileo, John Magnier and Aidan O'Brien has all come together at the right time - Aidan has those Galileos doing things that nobody else does."

Fiona Craig: 'Galileo is a phenomenon and there won't be another like him'Credit: Coolmore

National Hunt breeding may not be what Moyglare is best known for, but among its runners over obstacles has been Unaccompanied, a Listed winner on the Flat who also struck in two Grade 1 hurdle races. The granddaughter of Talking Picture visited Tamayuz last year and Moyglare will replicate the mating this year.

Blackangelheart is another granddaughter of Talking Picture owned by Eva Maria Bucher-Haefner's daughter Chiara, and is in foal to Free Eagle and will be covered by him again at the Irish National Stud this year.

"Unaccompanied's a great, big, strong mare and Tamayuz works with the pedigree," says Craig. "Her first three foals were colts and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a filly.

"If Blackangelheart has a Free Eagle filly, it will go into training for Chiara."

Another Moyglare foundation mare is Bubinka, whose descendants have plundered the Irish Classics including this year's 2,000 Guineas scorer Romanised, Oaks heroine Covert Love and Derby winner Grey Swallow.

Bubinka is also the ancestress of three active broodmares at Moyglare today - the sibling pair Antique Platinum and Love In The Sun, who are set to be covered by Free Eagle and Teofilo respectively, and the Group 3-winning Galileo mare Sense Of Purpose, who is carrying to Alpha Centauri's sire Mastercraftsman.

"Antique Platinum is a full-sister to Designs On Rome and Love In The Sun is a closely related half-sister," says Craig. "Antique Platinum has a big, strong colt by No Nay Never in training and will suit Free Eagle well, while Love In The Sun had a very good New Approach first foal."

Galileo mare Espoir D'Soleil and her Sea The Stars half-sister Afternoon Sunlight both trace back to another of the stud's foundation mares in Grenzen - ancestress of Refuse To Bend, Media Puzzle and Go And Go.

Espoir D'Soleil has been booked in to Siyouni in France, while Afternoon Sunlight will be mated with Camelot in Ireland.

In with the new

Among the high-profile purchases by the stud in recent years are the $4.3 million Quiet American mare Switch, a dual Grade 1 winner at Santa Anita, and the $2.4m purchase Discreet Marq, both bought at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

Switch will visit Invincible Spirit after she foals down to Galileo, while her US-based daughter Switch In Time visits Uncle Mo for her maiden cover. Discreet Marq, the 2013 Del Mar Oaks winner, returns to Galileo for the fourth consecutive year, with her two-year-old filly christened Florence Camille.

"Invincible Spirit will give a bit of speed to Switch," says Craig. "We kept her daughter Switch In Time because she's a Galileo and went to the US and won. She should suit Uncle Mo. Discreet Marq was bought to go to Galileo and based on her first foal - the two-year-old filly - you'd repeat that mating."

Purchased across town at Keeneland was Celestine, a Scat Daddy mare bought by Moyglare for $2.55m in 2016, and Terrific, a Galileo mare sourced the previous year for $1.9m.

William Mott trained Celestine to win the Just A Game Stakes in 2016 and is one of two Moyglare mares pencilled in to Medaglia D'Oro along with the Listed-winning Giant's Causeway mare Lira.

Liber Nauticus: Musidora Stakes winner bought by Moyglare for 425,000gns from the Ballymacoll dispersalCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Terrific, meanwhile, will join Rose De Pierre in being covered by Kingman after she foals down to Fastnet Rock.

On Kodiac's dance card are the notable producer Es Que, who is in foal to Sea The Stars, and Liber Nauticus, the Musidora Stakes scorer bought from the Ballymacoll dispersal for 425,000gns.

"Es Que and Liber Nauticus will both suit Kodiac," says Craig. "They were both bought as outcrosses and physically they'll work well with him.

"We've added some new lines and it'll be interesting to see how they develop - they could fizzle out or blossom, just like the family of Aptostar."

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