Rising son Japan gives supersire Galileo a landmark 80th Group 1 winner

Japan became the 80th Group/Grade 1 winner by perennial champion sire Galileo when landing Sunday's Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp.

The Aidan O'Brien-trained three-year-old made his elite-level breakthrough at the second attempt, having run a half a length third to stablemate Anthony Van Dyck in the Derby.

Sunday's victory was his third at Pattern level, having won the Group 2 Beresford Stakes at two and the King Edward VII Stakes by a wide margin on his penultimate outing at Royal Ascot.

Bred by Newsells Park Stud, Japan joined the Coolmore fold having been picked up for 1,300,000gns at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

He is the fifth new elite winner sired by Galileo in 2019, and his success places the Coolmore colossus within touching distance of the most prolific source of top-level winners in the history of the thoroughbred, with Danehill's hitherto unchallenged tally standing at 84.

Galileo's stud record includes a scarcely believable 479 stakes performers, 196 Group winners and 100 Listed scorers.

GALILEO'S GROUP 1 WINNERS IN 2019

ANTHONY VAN DYCK - Derby
CIRCUS MAXIMUS - St James's Palace Stakes
HERMOSA - 1,000 Guineas, Irish 1,000 Guineas
JAPAN - Grand Prix de Paris
MAGICAL - Tattersalls Gold Cup
SOVEREIGN - Irish Derby
WALDGEIST - Prix Ganay

As if those feats weren't enough, Galileo is also the grandsire of Slalom, a son of Intello, and Jalmoud, by New Approach, who finished second and third respectively to Japan on Sunday.

Japan also becomes a deserved first Group 1 winner for his dam, Shastye. The remarkable daughter of Danehill has been a consistent source of talented progeny since she joined the Newsells Park Stud broodmare band having been purchased through John Warren for 625,000gns at the 2005 Tattersalls December Sales.

Japan is a brother to the Group 2 Middleton Stakes scorer Secret Gesture and the Group 3-winning Sir Isaac Newton, and is also a half-brother to the Australian Listed winner Maurus, a son of Medicean.

Stallion man Tony O'Meara leads Galileo at CoolmoreCredit: Patrick McCann

Shastye, a half-sister to Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero Sagamix, has had seven of her progeny offered at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, and between them they have brought gross receipts totalling a staggering 10,800,000gns (£11.34 million).

That list is topped by Sir Isaac Newton, who fetched 3,600,000gns from MV Magnier in 2013. The two-year-old brother to Japan and Sir Isaac Newton - a colt named Mogul - is a close second, having been signed for by Magnier at 3,400,000gns at Tattersalls' flagship yearling sale in 2018.

Moreover, Shastye's daughter Secret Gesture, who was a 230,000gns vendor buyback in 2011, went on to sell to John Ferguson for $3.5m when offered as a broodmare prospect at Keeneland in 2016.

Bred and raced by Skara Glen Stables, Shastye won two races while under the care of John Gosden, and took her peak Racing Post Rating from 77 to 104 in one fell swoop when she made the jump up from Chepstow handicap to run Songlark close in the Listed Pontefract Castle Stakes.

Japan also becomes the 13th Group/Grade 1 winner to be bred on the Galileo - Danehill cross, joining the likes of the immortal Frankel and his high-achieving brother Noble Mission, Highland Reel, Intello, Roderic O'Connor and Teofilo.

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