Decorated Knight gives Galileo yet another top-flight winner

It was business as usual for Galileo at Meydan on Super Saturday as Decorated Knight supplied the Coolmore linchpin with his 63rd individual top-flight winner when swooping late to land the Group 1 Jebel Hatta for Roger Charlton, Andrea Atzeni and owners Saleh Al Homaizi and Imad Al Sagar.

Decorated Knight also brought up his own personal hat-trick of wins, having landed the Listed Winter Derby Trial and Group 3 Meld Stakes of his previous two outings.

Bred by Al Homaizi and Al Sagar, the five-year-old entire is the first foal out of the placed Storm Cat mare Pearling, a sister to top-class sire Giant’s Causeway and superb producer You’resothrilling, dam of Group 1 winners Marvellous and Gleneagles, both of whom are also by Galileo. It is also the immediate family of 2015 Great Voltigeur Stakes winner Storm The Stars.

Pearling was bought whilst in foal with Decorated Knight by Al Homaizi and Al Sagar’s racing and bloodstock advisor Tony Nerses for 1,300,000gns at the 2011 renewal of the Tattersalls December Mares Sale.

Pearling has produced two further runners, the Dubawi colt Azizaan and the Frankel filly Ambrosia, and also has a two-year-old son of Dansili on the ground. She is due to return to Galileo for her 2017 covering.

Decorated Knight had to overcome significant trouble in running over a furlong from home, but once in the clear he showed a superb attitude to make up several lengths and wear down Folkswood in the shadow of the post.

For much of the 1m1f trip it looked as though the runner-up was going to provide his sire, Exceed And Excel, with a hat-trick of Super Saturday wins after Morawij landed the Group 3 Mahab Al Shimaal and Heavy Metal blitzed his rivals to run out a six-and-a-half length winner of the Burj Nahaar, also a Group 3.

The other Group 1 contest on Meydan’s card went the way of Long River, who supplied A.P. Indy with his 28th individual Group/Grade 1 winner when running out a game winner of the Al Maktoum Challenge.

Racing in the colours of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum and bred by Darley, the seven-year-old Long River is the first foal out of Round Pond, a daughter of Awesome Again that won the 2006 Breeders’ Cup Distaff for trainer Michael Matz.