Aidan O'Brien

This time twenty years ago, Galileo (Ire) was a once-raced winning maiden gradually being honed to full fitness on the Ballydoyle gallops ahead of his Classic season. That debut outing at Leopardstown on Oct. 28, 2000, had started with the young son of Sadler's Wells and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heroine Urban Sea as evens favourite and ended, after a mile on heavy ground, with him 14 lengths clear of the Aga Khan's Taraza (Ire).  We've all seen 2-year-olds burn brightly in their maidens only to fizzle out...

Group 2 winner High Definition (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is doing well in advance of the 2021 Classics, however he is most likely to contest the G1 Epsom Derby instead of the G1 2000 Guineas, his trainer Aidan O'Brien revealed. A winner at The Curragh in August, the bay next took the G2 Beresford S. on Sept. 26 in good style. The decision was made to save him for his 3-year-old year instead of pressing on to juvenile Group 1s. "He's a big, rangy horse with an unbelievably long stride," O'Brien...

For the eleventh time, Aidan O'Brien was responsible for the European Champion 2-year-old, with St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) having topped the official classifications for 2020 on a mark of 120. The colt, a half-brother to 2000 Guineas winner and young Coolmore stallion Magna Grecia (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), is the seventh consecutive winner of the G1 Darley Dewhurst S. to be named as the top-rated juvenile in Europe. St Mark's Basilica's stable-mate Wembley (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who was runner-up in both the Dewhurst and the G1 Goffs Vincent...

Following a BHA inquiry into a saddling error that occurred prior to the running of the G1 Fillies' Mile, trainer Aidan O'Brien has been fined £4,000. His two fillies, Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) and Snowfall (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), apparently ran eighth and third in the event, but O'Brien quickly alerted the British Horseracing Authority that in fact the horses had swapped saddle towels and jockeys. The BHA amended the result with Mother Earth and Snowfall correctly placed third and eighth, respectively. O'Brien was not present at Newmarket the...

In Moment of 2020, the staff of TDN Europe reflect on their favourite moments in racing for the year. The Breeders' Cup is always a meeting that I particularly enjoy; it is a time when my keen interests in both European and American racing come together. The Breeders' Cup always involves some incredible clashes of the continents, and it is the most international meeting when you consider participation and the gravity that both sides place on it. The 2020 Breeders' Cup at Keeneland included a remarkably strong European presence, with...

Champion and MG1SW Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}-Halfway to Heaven {Ire}, by Pivotal {GB}) has been retired, Coolmore announced via Twitter on Tuesday. She will join the Coolmore broodmare band, but a 2021 stallion has not been decided upon. In her latest start, the 5-year-old finished third in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup on Dec. 13 for trainer Aidan O'Brien. "Brilliant seven-time Group 1 winner Magical (Galileo) has been retired and will join the broodmare band at Coolmore Stud," the tweet read. "Mating Plans [are] yet to be decided." Bred...

It has been 12 months since Ballydoyle's Magic Wand (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was just beaten to the wire by Japan's Win Bright (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup, but that outfit's globetrotting Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) will try to turn the tables as the marquee name among 15 foreign raiders for the Longines Hong Kong International Races at Sha Tin Racecourse Sunday, Dec. 13. No fewer than 17 international Group 1 winners are set to compete. "The Longines Hong Kong International Races is firmly established...

MG1SW Magical ((Ire) (Galileo {Ire}--Halfway to Heaven {Ire}), by Pivotal {GB}), runner-up behind Tarnawa (Ire) (Shamardal) in the Nov. 7 GI Breeders' Cup Mile at Keeneland, has remained in training and is expected to make her next start in the G1 Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin Dec. 13. Earlier this season, the 5-year-old mare won the G1 Irish Champion S., G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup and the G1 Pretty Polly S. "She ran very well in America, we were very happy with her at the Breeders' Cup," said trainer Aidan...

Now I do realise that I am in a minority of one here. But while everyone else seems to perceive some unique alchemy between Galileo (Ire) and Danehill, to me the number of good horses obtained by that cross is pretty much as you should expect when one breed-shaping stallion is mated with the daughters of another. After all, their dams will in turn have been well-bred and/or accomplished runners, simply to have gained access to an elite sire. If we call this "selective breeding", we are surely flattering ourselves....

Order of Australia (Ire) (Australia {GB}) only drew into the race with the scratch of One Master (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and needed a back-up rider when Christophe Soumillon was sidelined by a positive COVID test, but the 3-year-old overcame it all to lead home a one-two-three finish for Coolmore and trainer Aidan O'Brien in the GI Fanduel Breeders' Cup Mile Saturday at Keeneland. Off as a 73-1 outsider with Pierre-Charles Boudot picking up the ride from Soumillon, Order of Australia was able to get down into the three path after...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Sunday's Insights features a full-brother to G1SW Serpentine (Ire). 12.30 Naas, Mdn, €15,500, 2yo, 6fT Coolmore's debutant APOLLO THIRTEEN (IRE) (No Nay Never), one of three nominees representing the Aidan O'Brien stable, is out of the dual Grade I placegetter Nasty Storm (Gulch) and thus a half-brother to MGSW...

Magic Wand (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}-Prudenzia {Ire}, by Dansili {GB}), a winner of the 2019 G1 Mackinnon S., has been retired from racing and will join Coolmore Stud's broodmare band in Ireland next year, Coolmore Australia tweeted on Thursday morning. The 5-year-old was due to defend her title in the Mackinnon S., but was withdrawn with a foot abscess prior to the race. "Following a foot abscess as she was preparing for a second tilt at the Mackinnon S., Magic Wand has been retired and will join our broodmare band in...