Galileo Day at Royal Ascot
20th June 2008
Friday at Royal Ascot was Galileo Day when - by the close of play - the remarkable Coolmore stallion had both his ninth individual Group 1 winner and the new favourite for next year's 1,000 Guineas.The two fillies who achieved that feat were, like many of Galileo's other top performers, trained at Coolcullen in County Carlow by Jim Bolger. Lush Lashes (3f Galileo-Dance for Fun, by Anabaa) was a runaway winner of the G1 Coronation Stakes while the G3 Albany Stakes went to Cuis Ghaire (2f Galileo-Scribonia, by Danehill), who looks a filly with a huge future.
A brilliant winner of the G3 Musidora Stakes at York, Lush Lashes was not at home on the Epsom track when fifth in the G1 Oaks on her last start, but bounced back to score a powerful win against a high-class field in the Coronation Stakes when powering clear of Infallible to win by three and a quarter lengths.
"I was hoping that she would give a good account of herself but I didn't think she could win in that style. My only concern was the lack of pace in the race today but Kevin had that covered. We knew after Epsom that she was going the right way and obviously I was very tempted to go for the G2 Ribblesdale, but we thought that having won a Group race already we'd try to upgrade her and win a G1 and she's done it in style," said Bolger.
"She's always shown plenty of pace and I was a little concerned about her getting a mile and a half at Epsom. As it happened, it was more the track than not getting the trip, so next time it probably will be a mile and a half. The G1 Irish Oaks at the Curragh will be her target. She hadn't done any fast work at home since before the Guineas and she seems to be getting hardier at this stage."
Bred by Ann Jenkins and consigned by Mount Coote Stud, Lush Lashes was purchased by Jim Bolger at the 2006 Goffs Million Sale for €80,000. She won the Goffs Fillies Million on her racecourse debut last September.
Also successful for Bolger was the unbeaten 2yo filly Cuis Ghaire who took her record to three wins from as many starts when winning the Albany Stakes by a length and three-quarters.
Bred and retained to race by Bolger and his wife Jackie, Cuis Ghaire is out of the Danehill mare Scribonia, so is bred on the same cross as the trainer's 2006 champion two year-old Teofilo and also this year's G1 Italian Derby winner Cima De Triomphe.
Cuis Ghaire is now 5/1 favourite with sponsor Stan James for next year's 1,000 Guineas. "I'm always impressed with her. She's not a six-furlong filly, she's more of a miler but we got away with it because of her class," said Bolger. "I knew she'd come home well but you won't see her over six furlongs again."
