St Mark's Basilica stud fee set at €65,000 as he arrives at Coolmore

St Mark's Basilica's stud fee has been set at €65,000, the news being revealed on Monday as he arrived at Coolmore Stud.

The brilliant three-year-old son of Siyouni, out of Galileo's daughter Cabaret, was retired in September after failing to shake off a leg injury that had forced him to miss the Juddmonte International and may have affected his performance in the Irish Champion Stakes, in which he drifted right in the home straight in beating Tarnawa by three-quarters of a length.

St Mark's Basilica is a half-brother to Magna Grecia, and he was to emulate his sibling and now fellow Coolmore sire by winning a Group 1 as a two-year-old and going on to Classic glory at three.

They were not the long and the short of his achievements, however, and having rattled off an unbeaten four-race Group 1 sequence this year, St Mark's Basilica must be a strong contender for Horse of the Year honours.

He was last year's champion two-year-old in Europe, ending a five-race campaign for Aidan O'Brien and the Coolmore partners by winning the Dewhurst Stakes under Frankie Dettori.

He kicked off his three-year-old season by storming home to land the Poule d'Essai des Poulains at Longchamp and returned to France the following month to win the Prix du Jockey Club. The runner-up at Chantilly, Sealiway, would go on to win the Champion Stakes at Ascot.

St Mark's Basilica then swept by Mishriff and Addeybb with a devastating turn of foot in the Coral-Eclipse Stakes at Sandown, and in what proved to be his final start he dug deep to hold off Tarnawa at Leopardstown, surviving a stewards' inquiry.

St Mark's Basilica wins the Coral-Eclipse under Ryan Moore, arguably the best performance of his stellar careerCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Upon his retirement, O'Brien said: "He's a typical Galileo in that he runs with his head out and down. That's what Galileo did best, and he is obviously getting the speed from Siyouni.

"You can't go back to a Galileo mare with him, but one generation removed, he can go back. So the likes of Snowfall, who is out of a Galileo mare, by Deep Impact, she will be able to go back to him. Once it is one generation away, you can go back. That is what makes him so exciting."

And of his importance at stud, Coolmore's David O'Loughlin added: "He's the most exciting prospect we've retired from Ballydoyle since his late grandfather Galileo.

"He was European champion two-year-old, the highest-rated three-year-old in the world, a 1,300,000gns yearling by a top sire in Siyouni, a half-brother to another brilliant horse in Magna Grecia, both out of Galileo's Group-winning two-year-old Cabaret.

"He has everything and he'll get terrific support from his owners' broodmare band too."

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