Horse Talk with Simon Jackson:

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JOHN MAGNIER paid tribute to record-breaking sire and 2001 Epsom Derby winner Galileo who died this week.

The 23-year-old stallion was euthanised on humane grounds on Saturday owing to a chronic, non-responsive, debilitating injury to the left fore foot.

Galileo won six times in eight starts with victories also including the Irish Derby and King George & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes after providing Aidan O’Brien with his first win in the Epsom Derby.

Galileo become the first stallion to supply five winners of the Epsom Derby with New Approach (2008), Ruler Of The World (2013), Australia (2014), Anthony Van Dyck (2019) and Serpentine (2020).

Bred by Sadler’s Wells out of 1993 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Urban Sea, Galileo was an immediate success at stud and became the most successful Group 1 sire of all time in June 2020.

His total of individual Group 1 winners stands at 91 and 20 of his sons have sired Group 1 winners on the flat, headed by Frankel and Australia.

“It is a very sad day,” said John Magnier (on the Coolmore website), “But we all feel incredibly fortunate to have had Galileo here at Coolmore.

“I would like to thank the dedicated people who looked after him so well all along the way. He was always a very special horse to us and he was the first Derby winner we had in Ballydoyle in the post Vincent O’Brien era.

“I would also like to thank Aidan and his team for the brilliant job they did with him. The effect he is having on the breed through his sons and daughters will be a lasting legacy and his phenomenal success really is unprecedented.”

Horse Talk with Simon Jackson. Showcasing horse racing in London and the south east.