Moyglare make use of Galileo once again for classy broodmare band

Perennial champion sire Galileo has been visited by four Moyglare Stud broodmares for the past two breeding seasons and three of those will be returning to the Coolmore supremo in 2018.

Among the three is the ten-year-old Mediciean mare Sapphire, a daughter of Moyglare homebred Polished Gem, and the Grade 1-winning duo Discreet Marq and Switch.

Polished Gem, the dam of Moyglare's Prince of Wales's Stakes hero Free Eagle, was the fourth mare to visit Galileo last year but is unlikely to visit the son of Sadler's Wells due to having a late foaling date for this year.

Fiona Craig, Moyglare Stud's bloodstock adviser, said: "Polished Gem has had a bunch of foals and if she foals at the beginning of May then we would probably cover her. We don't want to end up on a late June cover and any of our other mares who are on a late cover, we often leave."

On the decision to continue to send mares to Galileo, Craig added: "He's getting older but he's an absolute phenomenon. Will we see his likes again? My feeling is I'm not sure we will.

"All we can keep doing is going to him with good mares and hope. In all cases, Discreet Marq, Sapphire and Switch had very nice foals by him. At this stage they all indicate they're nice individuals."

Afternoon Sunlight, a Group 3-winning daughter of Sea The Stars due to Frankel, is one of two mares Moyglare will send to Darley's flagship sire Dubawi. Joining her on the trip to Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket is dual Group 3 scorer Carla Bianca - once she delivers a foal by the son of Dubai Millennium.

Craig said: "Carla was very fast and pretty; physically it's a very good mating. She's quite light framed and if we get a Dubawi type then that's what she needs - she was very talented over a mile and you'd hope then you'd be producing something with Carla.

"Afternoon Sunlight's Siyouni yearling is very nice; solid, not over big and has lots of quality. That's the type of mare who goes to a stallion like him.

"If you're breeding to race, it's very hard to leave Galileo and Dubawi off the list when you look at the figures at the end of the year."

Majestic Silver, the dam of Carla Bianca and two other stakes performers in True Solitaire and Joailliere, is another of the mares Moyglare will likely rest this season due to being on a late cover to Dansili, like Polished Gem.

Continuing the theme of Galileo in Moyglare's matings, the operation has booked one of his daughters, the Listed-placed Terrific, back in to visit Fastnet Rock, a stallion who has had particular success when crossed with Galileo mares.

Craig added: "Unfortunately, Terrific was barren to Fastnet Rock so we're going to try her again with him and see where we get to. Physically and in terms of quality she suits Fastnet Rock."

Es Que, the dam of four stakes winners including Es Que Love, is currently in foal to Invincible Spirit and has an exciting date on the cards with a visit to Gilltown Stud resident Sea The Stars - a mating that has already produced George Strawbridge's Listed-winning filly Listen In.

"It's not very original and I take my hat off to Rathasker Stud and Peter Kelly who bred these horses out of her. We just have to hope we strike lucky with her," Craig said.

Ribblesdale Stakes heroine Irresistible Jewel, a 19-year-old daughter of Danehill, is one of two in the broodmare band destined to visit Derrinstown Stud stalwart Tamayuz this year.

She has already produced Group 3 scorer Mad About You, Irish St Leger hero Royal Diamond and Princess Highway - who emulated her dam when landing the 2012 edition of the Ribblesdale - but was barren to Dubawi last year.

Tamayuz will also cover the Listed-winning Unaccompanied, also a Grade 1 winner over hurdles, once she produces a foal by Distorted Humor.

Craig added: "With Irresistible Jewel being 19 now, we just decided to scale her back and Tamayuz, who stands down the road, seemed like the ideal place to go physically and pedigree-wise. We'd love to get another filly out of her."

Princess Highway, barren to Medaglia D'Oro, resides in America and will be sent to Claiborne Farm's War Front to repeat the mating that yielded her first foal, the winning Chiara Luna.

Mad About You, who will deliver a foal by Kodiac in the coming months, will be covered by Yeomanstown Stud's Dark Angel this year while her daughter, the Pivotal mare Malinka, has Kodiac next on her dance card once she produces a foal by Pride Of Dubai, and Profound Beauty's next intended date is a liaison with Invincible Spirit after she foals to Kingman.

Profound Beauty's dual Listed-winning daughter by Dubawi, Rose De Pierre, is one of the new additions to Moyglare's broodmare band and the five-year-old has had a visit to Haras de Bonneval's exciting young sire Siyouni booked in.

Craig said: "As with a lot of these stallions, as time goes on, you learn a lot more about them. Siyouni is one of the younger stallions you'd probably be a little bit foolish to leave off.

"Physically the mating between Profound Beauty and Invincible Spirit could work well.

"Mad About You's stock has been physically a lot bigger than she is and even though she was a seven furlong to a mile horse, we just felt her stock needed a bit more pace."

The County Kildare operation also moved to secure Liber Nauticus at last year's Tattersalls December Mares Sale, picking up the former Ballymacoll Stud mare for 425,000gns at the auction.

The eight-year-old daughter of Azamour, currently in foal to dual Derby hero Harzand, is now set for an exciting date with Nunnery Stud's Muhaarar.

Craig added: "Liber Nauticus is from one of the two foundation Ballymacoll pedigrees and she's settled in here straightaway. She's going to Muhaarar simply because the foals I saw were lovely.

"We didn't have another mare to send to him and we found one who suited him. She's a big, scopey mare and good racemare - she's basically what we want to breed. From the pedigree that she comes from, we thought she'd fit into us."

With an exciting group of matings for 2018, Craig also confirmed that the lightly-raced four-year-old Tocco D'Amore stays in training with Dermot Weld, meaning there's plenty for Moyglare to look forward to.

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