Winter more proof that sending sprinters to Galileo can pay off

One day after Churchill ruled the 2,000 Guineas, Winter landed the fillies' version to make it a Classic double for offspring of Galileo and fast mares trained by Aidan O'Brien for Coolmore.

Winter – who becomes the 64th Group/Grade 1 winner for Coolmore juggernaut Galileo – took up the running two furlongs from home under Wayne Lordan and stretched clear to win by two lengths.

Her stablemate and paternal half-sister Rhododendron, who started favourite for the race, found trouble in running but stayed on to finish second, with the John Gosden-trained Daban – a daughter of Acclamation, better known for siring sharper and speedier runners – a further neck back in third.

Winter is the second foal bred by a Coolmore syndicate out of the Choisir mare Laddies Poker Two, who is best remembered for landing a huge gamble when she won the Wokingham Handicap at Royal Ascot in 2010 after a long lay-off.

Choisir is developing into a broodmare sire of note as his daughters have also produced Prince of Wales's Stakes winner My Dream Boat and Group 3 scorer Persuasive.

Unusually for mares covered by Galileo nowadays, Laddies Poker Two does not have black type and neither do any of her siblings or her dam.

She is a sister to Chooseday, a fair sprint handicapper, out of the unraced Favorite Trick mare Break Of Day, a half-sister to Gimcrack Stakes second Ma Yoram.

Ancient Regime, the third dam of Laddies Poker Two, won the Prix Morny for her owner-breeder Robin Scully and was a sister to high-class sprinter Cricket Ball out of Nunthorpe winner Caterina.

Laddies Poker Two also has a two-year-old filly by Galileo named Chariot, a yearling filly by Galileo and returned to the sire last year.

The combination of Galileo with faster mares was not only responsible for Churchill and Winter over the weekend, but also impressive Jockey Club Stakes heroine Seventh Heaven, who is by the multiple champion sire out of La Traviata, a Grade 3 winner over 6f in the US who has also produced Middle Park Stakes winner Crusade.

Frankel, Gleneagles, Cape Blanco, Magician and Mondialiste are among the other Group/Grade 1 winners by Galileo out of sprinters.

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