Gold Circle Derby Winner for Galileo

Australian bred Il Saggiatore (3g Galileo x Smidgin, by Snippets) landed his second feature race win in South Africa on Sunday when taking out the Group II Gold Circle Derby at Clairwood. The Joey Ramsden trained son of Galileo made it four wins from nine starts when scoring a narrow win in the 2400 metre classic. Bred by Victorian based Glentree Downs, Il Saggiatore runs for Mr and Mrs Markus Jooste, but did not go through an Australian yearling sale. The lightly raced gelding is the first stakes-winner for his stakes-placed dam Smidgin, who is the dam of six winners. Smidgin has a yearling filly by Excellent Art that fetched $60,000 at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale earlier this year. Il Saggiatore is from the last Australian conceived crop of foals by champion sire Galileo, who is now based permanently at Coolmore in Ireland and is enjoying his best every year as a sire.