Who'd have thunk it...

Jolene Danner · Post by **Jolene Danner** » 17 years ago

Galileo! I was like what?!?! LOL Never would have guessed him but there it is.

Makybe Diva Heading To Galileo

Newly-crowned Australian Racehorse-Of-The-Year Makybe Diva's owner Tony Santic ended weeks of speculation about which stallion will serve his triple Gr1 Melbourne Cup winner in her 1st season at stud by confirming to Melbourne's Herald-Sun newspaper that he has chosen Coolmore shuttler & Gr1 English Derby winner Galileo (Sadler's Wells-Urban Sea, by Miswaki). Santic commented:

"It hasn't been an easy decision. We've got some excellent stallions here, but I think Makybe Diva & Galileo will be a great match. We've taken a lot of things into consideration to ensure she is given the best opportunity to succeed in her next challenge of becoming a mum. Galileo has a strong pedigree, is a proven sire internationally & his progeny are already producing great results both here in Australia & in Europe.

"He was always our top pick, regardless of what Lee (trainer Lee Freedman, who had speculated publicly about choosing fellow Coolmore sire Encosta de Lago) & everyone else was thinking. Galileo looks like he could be the next up-and-coming stallion."

Makybe Diva (Desert King-Tugela, by Riverman) retired last November with 15 wins (11 stakes from 1400-3200m, including 7 Gr1s) & 7 placings from 36 starts for $14,526,685 earnings. Meanwhile racingpost.co.uk noted overnight that Galileo "has secured an unassailable lead on the European 2nd-Crop Sires table"; & in the just completed Australian season, he produced 11 1st-Crop winners (including 3 stakes-winners). (Aug 10)

Mallory Claire · Post by **Mallory Claire** » 17 years ago

Why not? He's a handsome, accomplished racehorse with a nice pedigree. With Sadler's Wells and Danehill out of duty, I think a lot of the international breeders will begin to scope out the younger, unproven sires for their nice mares. There's a lot of good blood out there.

Post by **The Steward** » 17 years ago

Wait when did Sadler's Wells come out of stud duty?????

Mallory Claire · Post by **Mallory Claire** » 17 years ago

Hmmm. I kinda remember him being pensioned, but maybe it was temporary? Either way, he's old and has too many babies, anyway.

Laura Ferguson · Post by **Laura Ferguson** » 17 years ago

Danehill died a few years ago. Sadler's Wells, at least in real life, has never been pensioned, and is still standing stud duty.

Galileo has gotten off to a pretty good start at stud, so it should be an interesting match. In this case, though, it sounds like Galileo was picked, at least in part because he stands in Australia on Southern Hemisphere time. Since Sadler's Wells doesn't ship (nor does Montjeu or some of the other Coolmore stallions; on the other hand Giant's Causeway, etc also ship), that would exclude him from consideration.

Emily Mitchell · Post by **Emily Mitchell** » 17 years ago

Sadler's Wells ROCKS!

I like the Galileo cross... but it sure is a lot of Northern Dancer blood. The foal will be 3x5x5x5 to Northern Dancer. Of course, most of that is all in Makybe Diva to start with, but still... and it is hard to find a top turf horse (or most any horse) without Northern Dancer blood. He's everrrryyyyywhere!