By 2021 Galileo\u2019s illustrious career was starting to come to an end. The old horse was still getting a handful of mares in foal that would ultimately result in a final crop of 12 three-year-olds. But\u00a0 those using him also had to be alert to the other options available.<\/p>\n
One of those mares slated to visit him that season was Gossamer Wings, a young member of Coolmore\u2019s powerful broodmare band. She was exactly the type of mare who promised to suit Galileo well; a daughter of Scat Daddy, she was a typically fast and precocious representative of that stallion who had defied her mid-May foaling date by falling just a nose short in the 2018 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot. Coolmore, in particular, had long been well attuned to Galileo\u2019s affinity with faster mares, an area in which he had the upper hand over his sire Sadler\u2019s Wells. Gossamer Wings, therefore, was a naturally appealing candidate to take a slot in what turned out to be Galileo\u2019s final book.<\/p>\n
However, it was that thinking, along with the advice of Aidan O\u2019Brien, that prompted the Coolmore team to turn to his Derby-winning son Australia when it became clear that an alternative might be needed. The result was Lambourn, lastmonth\u2019s front-running winner of the Derby who followed up in the Irish Derby.<\/p>\n
\u201cGalileo was on the decline at the time and we were looking for alternatives for Gossamer Wings,\u201d recalls Mark Byrne of Coolmore. \u201cThey were Wootton Bassett, Frankel, Kingman and then\u00a0 Australia, and credit must go to Aidan O\u2019Brien and [Coolmore Director of Sales] David O\u2019Loughlin for suggesting Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cAidan\u2019s a believer in the horse,\u00a0 especially when it comes to sending him those faster types of mares. He\u2019s had a lot of success with Australia, be it training Group 1 horses by him or breeding the likes of Port Fairy. And credit to David as well. Those faster Queen Mary types of mares that Mr Magnier loves worked so well with Galileo, and Australia is very much in his mould. It made sense and Mr Magnier and MV [Magnier] were then very quick to row in behind that and use the horse.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien has never hidden his regard for Australia. The 14-year-old has just completed his 11th season at Coolmore and so breeders know full well now where they stand with him, aware that while\u00a0 he is a proven Group 1 sire, much of his influence lies over middle distances, which of course doesn\u2019t always sit well within the constrictions of commercial breeding. That profile probably played its part in the horse attracting just 60 mares at \u20ac17,500 in 2024. Coolmore cut his fee to \u20ac10,000 for this season and by all accounts Australia has had a much busier spring. And deservedly so given June featured not only Lambourn but also Coronation Stakes heroine Cercene. Another three-year-old, Kiamba, won a Listed race in France.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve always really liked his progeny<\/p>\n
When it comes to passing down soundness and steady temperament, Australia appears to have few peers. That much was neatly summed up by O\u2019Brien\u2019s daughter Ana in a feature on the family\u2019s Whisperview Trading with Owner Breeder last summer. At the time, Port Fairy had just captured the Ribblesdale to join a list of accomplished Whisperview-bred progeny of Australia headed by the Breeders\u2019 Cup Mile winner Order Of Australia. The O\u2019Brien family also bred Wemightakedlongway, who ran fourth in last month\u2019s Oaks for Joseph O\u2019Brien.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve always really liked his progeny and we have some really gorgeous yearlings by him again this year,\u201d she said. \u201cI think he\u2019s a stallion who is underrated. They also have great temperaments. From the minute they\u2019re born, they\u2019re very easy to have anything to do with. You\u2019d nearly know going into a field which is an Australia by its temperament. I remember in training that he was a gentleman of a horse, you couldn\u2019t fault him and he was so straightforward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those qualities have seemingly come to the fore in Lambourn. Uncomplicated like his sire, his win continued a Derby-winning sequence for the sire line after Galileo (2001) and Australia (2014), thereby emulating the Galileo \u2013 New Approach \u2013 Masar streak completed in 2018 and that of Mill Reef \u2013 Shirley Heights \u2013 Slip Anchor completed in 1985.<\/p>\n
Ironically, Australia\u2019s Classic milestone comes in the year that his fee sits at that \u20ac10,000 career low. There are a number of proven sires languishing within the under \u00a315,000 bracket, but not one boasts the record compiled by Australia. Lambourn is one of seven Group\/Grade 1 winners by the stallion and the second to win a British Classic after Galileo Chrome, successful in the 2020 St Leger. However, his Derby win broke a Group\/Grade 1 drought for the sire that stretched back to Ocean Road\u2019s win in the Gamely Stakes at Santa Anita in May 2022 (although Adelaide Road did\u00a0 come close to upsetting Auguste Rodin in the 2023 Irish Derby).<\/p>\n
Much of the top-end quality is also weighted towards Australia\u2019s first few crops. He was a leading light of the 2015 intake of new stallions, a multiple Group 1 winner supported by a Classic pedigree, and as such he was well supported early on at \u20ac50,000. While beneficial, such backing also triggers a weight of expectation and hype. Australia isn\u2019t the first stallion unable to emerge entirely unscathed from that burden, as illustrated by his current fee, but an overall record of almost 50 stakes winners \u2013 which equates to five per cent stakes winners to runners \u2013 also demonstrates his capabilities.<\/p>\n
Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud winner Broome, a tough performer who excelled as an older horse, was the Group 1-winning\u00a0 star of his first crop but there was also a Group 2-winning juvenile in Godolphin\u2019s Beyond Reason as well as a pair of hardy Group 2-winning colts in Sir Ron Priestley and Bangkok.<\/p>\n
For whatever reason, his second crop was more accomplished as the source of St Leger winner Galileo Chrome, French Group 1 winner Mare Australis, Order Of Australia and Irish Oaks runner-up Cayenne Pepper. Ocean Read, a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Wigmore Hall, was the highlight of his third crop bred off \u20ac35,000.<\/p>\n
Hitting full stride<\/p>\n
By 2021, his fee had dropped to \u20ac25,000. But Australia was just getting going; several of those early representatives hit full stride that season and come the end of the year, he was among the top ten leading British and Irish sires with almost \u00a32 million in earnings.<\/p>\n
It is interesting to note the number of influential breeders who took advantage of Australia\u2019s drop in fee in 2021, among them the O\u2019Brien family (who sent seven mares), Skymarc Farm, Al Shira\u2019aa Farms and Cayenne Pepper\u2019s trainer Jessica Harrington. As such, Lambourn and Cercene are among 100 three-year-olds on the ground by him.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s bred a lot of good horses for a range of breeders along<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a very good sire,\u201d says Byrne. \u201cYou just have to look at his three-year-olds this year. He\u2019s bred a lot of good horses for a range of breeders along the way \u2013 the Cullen family bred a Group 1 winner by him [Ocean Road], Croom House Stud bred Broome and [Group 1-placed] Point Lonsdale and Dermot and Meta Cantillon bred [Group 3 winner] Tranquil Lady. A lot of people have shared in his success including plenty of families local to us, which is really satisfying.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Lambourn won the Derby, I received many messages from people with mares in foal to him. That kind of result gives everyone a lift.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chief in that, of course, is the Coolmore team itself, which continues to hold the Derby in the highest regard. Lambourn, seemingly the Ballydoyle third string behind Delacroix and The Lion In Winter, was providing Aidan O\u2019Brien with a record 11th win in the race. His predecessor Vincent O\u2019Brien saddled six winners, among them Sir Ivor and Nijinsky.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Derby is so important to Coolmore,\u201d says Byrne. \u201cYou really feel the build up to it around the place. There\u2019s a real excitement among the owners and partners \u2013 they\u2019re like kids on Christmas morning! There\u2019s talk about the weather, the ground, which way the wind is blowing \u2013 the excitement is incredible. And it was a fitting result for Australia being a Derby winner by a Derby winner and out of a Ouija Board, who won the Oaks.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone loves him here. He\u2019s very popular with visitors and he\u2019s the perfect horse for any photo because he\u2019s so placid. He\u2019s just a big friendly giant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lambourn and Wemightakedlongway both represent the Australia \u2013 Scat Daddy cross, with Lambourn being out of a Scat Daddy mare and Wemightakedlongway an early stakes winner out of a mare by No Nay Never. The Storm Cat tribe, particularly via Scat Daddy, is invariably an influence for precocious speed and his presence through two of Australia\u2019s three-year-old stars might be indicative of breeders approaching the 2021 season with enough evidence to know that faster mares might be the way forward.<\/p>\n
In the case of Lambourn, Australia has seemingly overwhelmed the input of his dam Gossamer Wings. Bought for $500,000 as a yearling, she won at Navan over five furlongs for O\u2019Brien the following June en route to Royal Ascot where she was just touched off by Signora Caballo in the Queen Mary Stakes. Following a placing in the Flying Childers Stakes, she was stepped up in distance but that proved fruitless. Nor did she trouble the judge in six starts at three.<\/p>\n
Gossamer Wings was from the final crop of Scat Daddy, who died in late 2015\u00a0 just as he was taking off. At the time of her sale as a yearling at Keeneland in September 2017, her dam Lavender Baby, a daughter of the quietly influential Rubiano, had already produced a smart one to Scat Daddy in Lavender Chrissie, winner of the Zia Park Oaks on dirt for Dale Romans. Perhaps more impressive, however, was the mare\u2019s achievement of foaling a Grade 3\u00a0winner to the nondescript $2,000 stallion J Be K; the filly in question, Baby J, won the 2013 Victory Ride Stakes at Belmont Park.<\/p>\n
The immediate reaches of this family was cultivated primarily in America but it is proven at a good level on both dirt and turf \u2013 as a case in point, Baby J was a dirt sprinter while her Lonhro half-sister Childhood is the dam of Australian Group 2 winner Infancy. Gossamer Wings\u2019 third dam Hot Milk, a 1981-foaled daughter of Restless Native, was a smart filly for her breeder Edward P. Evans whose five wins included the Colleen and Astoria Stakes. Delve back further and it is a British family, starting with Gossamer Wings\u2019 fifth dam L\u2019Amour Toujours, by Derby winner Never Say Die. L\u2019Amour Toujours not only appears as the sixth dam of Lambourn but is the seventh dam of the Derby second Lazy Griff.<\/p>\n
\u201cGossamer Wings is a very good looking mare who got a very high rating as a yearling,\u201d says Byrne. \u201cLambourn was always a strong type, maybe that\u2019s the influence of his dam coming through. As a young horse, he was well regarded, Paul Shanahan rated him very highly and that\u2019s a reflection of why he is in Ballydoyle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Numerically speaking, Australia has yet to replicate his early success while it would be wrong to dismiss the input of several early good mates; for example Bangkok is a son of multiple stakes producer Tanaghum, and Order Of Australia is one of three top-flight winners out of exceptional mare Senta\u2019s Dream.<\/p>\n
However, for what it\u2019s worth, Gossamer Wing\u2019s sole try with the superior Galileo resulted in the 77-rated maiden Enthralling. Lambourn is her second foal and is followed by a two-year-old Frankel colt named Action.<\/p>\n
Australia has a handful of sons at stud but if early results are any indication, then his legacy will unfold at its strongest as a broodmare sire. With his oldest daughters now ten, he is the damsire of seven stakes winners, among them Queen Elizabeth II Stakes winner Lazzat, Lockinge Stakes runner-up Dancing Gemini and last year\u2019s Superlative Stakes winner Ancient Truth, one of two well-rated winners for Godolphin so far out of Beyond Reason.<\/p>\n
\u201cLazzat was the first Group 1 winner out of an Australia mare last year, Dancing Gemini could be another and Beyond Reason is already a very good producer for Godolphin,\u201d says Byrne. \u201cThat\u2019s just from a very small sample so far and it could be that Australia\u2019s daughters will shortly command a premium.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By 2021 Galileo\u2019s illustrious career was starting to come to an end. The old horse was still getting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18160,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[3004,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-18159","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-racing","8":"tag-racing","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}