Aidan O’Brien’s Content became a landmark 100th individual Group/Grade One winner for her legendary late sire Galileo by landing Thursday’s Pertemps Yorkshire Oaks at York’s Ebor festival.
Ryan Moore guided the 3-1 favourite who reversed last month’s Irish Oaks form with You Got To Me and won an exciting finish by three-parts-of-a-length.
It was an apt milestone in the epic story of one of the most important stallions in racing history who had to euthanised in 2021 due to a chronic foot problem and whose final crop of a dozen horses are juveniles this year.
The stallion that underpinned O’Brien’s unparalleled success at Ballydoyle over the last two decades was trained by the Irishman to win the Derby at both Epsom and the Curragh in 2001, as well as that year’s King George.
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Dermot Weld trained Nightime to be Galileo’s first top-flight winner in the 2006 Irish 1,000 Guineas and the peerless broodmare sire completed the century with another filly.
In between the son of Sadlers Wells transformed the breed, most notably by siring the sport’s top-rated performer Frankel whose stellar unbeaten career ran from 2010 to 2012 and who is now a tip sire himself.
“She’s a typical Galileo, she’s very brave and tried hard,” said Moore who challenged wide of his rivals in the straight after Content ran keen in the early stages. “I’ve been very lucky to ride so many of them. He’s been a sensational stallion.”
It continued a hugely successful Ebor festival for O’Brien and Moore, who combined for a hat-trick 24 hours earlier that was topped by City Of Troy’s Juddmonte International victory.
He is by the US sire Justify but out of the Galileo mare Together Forever, who is herself among the elite 100 having landed the Fillies Mile a decade ago during her own racing career.
It was a record-equalling ninth Yorkshire Oaks for O’Brien, five of them with daughters of Galileo.
“He’s incredible and came along at the end of Sadler’s Wells. It’s that instinct not to give up that he puts in them. They’re so determined and genuine, they’ll empty the tank totally which very few horses will do,” the trainer said. “It’s been incredible to train so many of them.”
Last year’s Yorkshire Oaks winner Warm Heart was also by Galileo and went on secure Prix Vermeille success a month later, a route Content could also take, after stepping up from an unlucky effort in the Irish Oaks.
“Every time she’s stepped up she’s run better. She’s not straightforward or easy, but the pace was stronger today and she kept coming. She’s a very brave filly and she’ll be better again in a faster run race.
“She could go to one of the fillies trials, like a Vermeille. She could end up in an Arc, or in America [Breeders’ Cup]. She’s definitely going to be better where the pace is strong, as when she gets into a gear it’ll be amazing to see what she can do off that kind of a pace,” O’Brien added.
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