Have Coolmore finally found the heir apparent to the mighty Galileo?

The first two Group 1 races of the season for two-year-olds gave an accurate snapshot of the current balance of power with colts trained by Aidan O’Brien winning the Phoenix Stakes and Prix Morny.

On Sunday in France, Blackbeard followed the lead of stablemate Little Big Bear, who had run away with the Phoenix Stakes two weeks earlier. O’Brien’s juveniles have been in sparkling form all season, which is reflected in the betting for next year’s 2,000 Guineas. Six of the ten colts at the top of the market are housed at Ballydoyle.

If there is nothing entirely unusual in that, the origins of Little Big Bear and Blackbeard represent a marked departure from what we have come to expect from Ballydoyle over the years. They are not by Galileo; both are sons of No Nay Never, whose racing career was in stark contrast to his late, Derby-winning studmate at Coolmore.