Galileo, O'Brien and Dubawi among the names that ring out in 2,000 Guineas field

Galileo, the most prolific sire of Group 1 winners in the history of the turf, will bid to supply an unprecedented 90th top-level scorer when Wembley lines up against his 14 rivals in the Qipco 2,000 Guineas on Saturday.

Among the perennial champion sire's record-setting roll of honour are three 2,000 Guineas winners, namely Frankel (2011), Gleneagles (2015) and Churchill (2017), while he is also the grandsire of Dawn Approach, who struck in 2013.

Wembley's distaff line is also a source of encouragement for his chances too as he is the fifth foal out of Inca Princess, a daughter of top-class juvenile Holy Roman Emperor. The mare has enjoyed a particularly fruitful relationship with Galileo, having been mated exclusively with the son of Sadler's Wells each year since 2012.

The five resulting foals have all won and gained black type, most notably the Group 1-winning Johannes Vermeer and the Group 2 scorer Elizabeth Browning. Coolmore homebred Wembley was the first foal out of the mare after she changed hands while carrying the colt in utero for €1.9 million at the Goffs November Sale in 2017.

Given his absolute domination of the European Classic scene in recent times, it rates as something of an anomaly that Wembley will be Galileo's first 2,000 Guineas representative since 2018, when Gustav Klimt finished sixth to Saxon Warrior.

He has, however, filled other prominent roles in the pedigrees of the Guineas protagonists in that time, most notably as the damsire of winners Magna Grecia (2019) and Saxon Warrior, a role he also filled in 2016 with Galileo Gold and 2014 with Night Of Thunder. All told, Galileo has featured in the immediate family of eight winners since 2010, while his half-brother Sea The Stars won the 2009 running.

The perennial champion sire also appears as the damsire of a significant member of this year's line-up, the regally bred Battleground. The imposing three-year-old is the first foal of the brilliant Found, whose three Group 1 victories were headed by a defeat of Highland Reel in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

Battleground, winner of last year's Chesham and Vintage Stakes, is by leading US sire War Front. The son of Danzig has received heavy support from Coolmore down the years, primarily as an outcross option for their many Sadler's Wells and Galileo mares. The operation has been rewarded with the likes of Brave Anna and Hit It A Bomb, both of whom are out of Evie Stockwell's Liscanna, as well as Roly Poly and US Navy Flag, who are out of Misty For Me.

War Front is undoubtedly a world-class sire, with a stud record boasting 23 Group/Grade 1 winners. However, questions still persist over his ability to supply a European Classic winner, with Air Force Blue in particular enduring a disappointing three-year-old season after a brilliant juvenile campaign. However, he will have few better opportunities to break his European Classic hoodoo than he does with Battleground.

O'Brien's influence

As well as favourite Wembely and the blue-blooded Battleground, Aidan O'Brien also saddles Van Gogh, a Group 1-winning two-year-old in the Criterium International who boasts Classic winners on both sides of his pedigree.

He is one of three top-flight winners sired by US Triple Crown hero American Pharoah, who stands at Coolmore's Stateside base at Ashford Stud in Kentucky, and is the 12th foal out of Barronstown Stud's Imagine.

The daughter of Sadler's Wells won two Classics during her own racing days, namely the Irish 1,000 Guineas and the Oaks, while her Caerleon half-brother Generous also landed the Anglo-Irish Derby double.

Imagine has developed into a most accomplished producer, with her ten winners including Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere victor Horatio Nelson, the Listed-winning and Group 2-placed Viscount Nelson and the Rockfel Stakes victress Kitty Matcham.

O'Brien is not only the trainer of three 2,000 Guineas runners, but is also the breeder of one of the most exciting contenders in Thunder Moon, who was bred under the Whisperview Trading banner with wife Annemarie.

Declan McDonogh with Thunder Moon after their National Stakes victoryCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Thunder Moon is one of three Group 1 winners by the star-crossed Zoffany having claimed last season's National Stakes, while he is another in the line-up who boasts Sadler's Wells as damsire being out of Small Sacrifice.

The dam, who was bought by Annemarie O'Brien for just €18,000 in 2007, has bred two other winners, most notably the Listed-winning Table Rock. Small Sacrifice is from the family of Moyglare Stud's famed producer Trusted Partner, winner of the Irish 1,000 Guineas and ancestress of a whole host of Moyglare celebrities such as Dress To Thrill and Polished Gem, dam of Custom Cut, Free Eagle, Sapphire and Search For A Song.

O'Brien, who has trained ten 2,000 Guineas winners, has also tasted success as a breeder in the race before, having bred Rock Of Gibraltar with Annemarie's late father Joe Crowley.

Dubawi mob handed

Galileo's old adversary Dubawi, sire of 44 Group/Grade 1 winners, has three runners as he seeks to land a third 2,000 Guineas, following Makfi's success in 2010 and the surprise victory of Night Of Thunder, who saw off Kingman and Australia in 2014.

The best credentialled of the trio from a pedigree perspective appears to be Craven Stakes winner Master Of The Seas, who is the tenth foal of out Firth Of Lorne. The daughter of Danehill has developed into a high-class producer at paddocks, but before that she was a talented runner too, winning a French Listed contest and finishing runner-up to Zenda - dam of none other than Kingman - in the Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches.

Firth Of Lorne has produced seven other winners, including three Listed scorers, namely Falls Of Lora, who in turn is the dam of Group 1 hero Cascadian, Etive and Latharnach, the latter of whom also finished runner-up to Gleneagles in the St James's Palace Stakes.

Dubawi's other runners are headed by Vertem Futurity Trophy Stakes runner-up One Ruler, who has Group 1 form in his pedigree through his dam Fintry, a daughter of Shamardal who won the Group 2 Prix de Sandringham and finished third to Integral in the Sun Chariot Stakes.

Dubawi: sire of three of this year's 2,000 Guineas contendersCredit: Edward Whitaker

The Dubawi triumvirate, all Godolphin homebreds, is completed by Naval Crown. He is the first foal out of the Listed-winning Come Alive, a daughter of Dansili, meaning he is bred on the same cross as Group 1 winner Nezwaah and the Group 2 scorers Glorious Journey and Time Test.

Up-and-comers assemble

While the likes of Galileo and Dubawi are firmly established heavyweights of the stallion ranks, the 2,000 Guineas provides a pair of upwardly mobile names with an opportunity to further enhance their respective reputations.

Ballylinch Stud's Lope De Vega, already sire of 12 Group/Grade 1 winners, is represented by Phoenix Stakes scorer Lucky Vega, a €165,000 yearling bred by Kilcarn Stud who is out of a daughter of Prix de l'Opera heroine Satwa Queen.

Should Lucky Vega prevail, his sire will have supplied the winner of both legs of the Anglo-Irish 2,000 Guineas, after Phoenix Of Spain struck in the Irish version in 2019.

Wootton Bassett, who is currently covering a star-studded book of mares at a fee of €100,000 having joined the Coolmore roster this year, is double-handed with Greenham Stakes winner Chindit and the £280,000 yearling Legion Of Honour.

Chindit has Classic blood in his pedigree, with his dam being out of a Galileo half-sister to Derby hero Motivator, although Legion Of Honour's lineage is more about speed, with the likes of Brando and Reckless Abandon appearing in his back pedigree.

Wootton Bassett has sired three Group/Grade 1 winners, and supplied a French Classic victor in his debut crop in the shape of Prix du Jockey Club hero Almanzor.

Classic spirit

Invincible Spirit's 20 Group 1 winners include Magna Grecia, winner of the 2,000 Guineas two years ago. His representative this year is Shadwell homebred Mutasaabeq, who not only holds sound form claims, having maintained his unbeaten record with an impressive success in a conditions stakes during the Craven meeting, but also boasts a pedigree befitting a Classic winner.

Mutasaabeq: dam Ghanaati was a Classic winner on the Rowley Mile 12 years agoCredit: Edward Whitaker

As well as being by a fantastic stallion, he is the seventh foal out of Ghanaati, winner of the 1,000 Guineas in 2009 for Hamdan Al Maktoum and Barry Hills. Ghanaati, a granddaughter of blue hen Height Of Fashion, has bred six winners, including the classy Afaak and Meydan Group 3 scorer Wafy, although Mutasaabeq looks well on his way to being the mare's most talented runner yet.

Poetic Flare appears to have been precision engineered for the 2,000 Guineas test by trainer-breeder Jim Bolger, as the colt is by Dawn Approach, a five-length winner of the race in 2013, and out of Maria Lee, a daughter of Rock Of Gibraltar - who denied Hawk Wing to land the Group 1 prize in 2002.

Should Poetic Flare emerge victorious on Saturday he would supply Rock Of Gibraltar with back-to-back 2,000 Guineas successes as damsire, following the success of Kameko last year.

Being by Dawn Approach, who now stands at Bolger's own Redmondstown Stud, means Poetic Flare is the only runner in the 15-strong line-up whose sire won the 2,000 Guineas.

Life's a breeze

The European breeze-up season is in full swing and three 2,000 Guineas contenders graduated from last year's two-year-old sales. The shortest-priced of the trio is the 220,000gns Devilwala, who was bought by Alex Elliott and Blandford Bloodstock from breeder Tally-Ho Stud.

The son of Kodiac is from a fast family, being out of a Cadeaux Genereux half-sister to Listed-winning Excelette, while King's Stand Stakes scorer Bolshoi also appears further back in the pedigree.

Mystery Smiles, a £165,000 purchase by Sackville Donald from Andrew Lynch's Kilbrew Stables, is by record-breaking first-season sire Mehmas and also hails from a speedy pedigree, with five-furlong Group 1 winner Maarek among his relatives.

Albadri has the lowest rating and cheapest purchase price in the field, having cost Mohammed Alenezi just £15,000 from Drumphea Stables. The Jane Chapple-Hyam-trained runner faces a stiff task to supply Ballyhane Stud's Dandy Man with his fourth Group/Grade 1 winner.

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