Galleria Borghese Steps Up In Oaks Trial

Galleria Borghese (3f Caravaggio x On Ice, by Galileo) became her sire’s seventh stakes winner on Wednesday with a half-length victory in the Listed Naas Oaks Trial in Ireland.

Racing over 1 ¼ miles on the turf, the Aidan O’Brien trainee shot to the front from the start and was eager to keep it that way. Racing under Wayne Lordan, she faced a challenge close to the quarter mile pole but was happy to dig in and fight off that contender.

Another challenge faced her near the line but she was determined to get there first and won by half a length with Gleneagles’ Seisai a nose back in third.

Bred by Ann Marie O’Brien, Galleria Borghese runs for her breeder and the Coolmore partners. It has been a busy month for the filly, who finished second both last Friday and on June 5. In all, she has hit the board in four of her six career starts.

“She’s been coming forward all year, improving from run to run. Her last run in Limerick was a good step forward and she made the step up again today,” Lordan told Irishracing.com. “She has been strengthening up all year and we felt it was time to step up to a mile and a quarter and she got it well. She tries hard, is improving and getting strong. I’m sure the boss (O'Brien) will be happy as they bred her as well.”

Galleria Borghese is out of a Galileo full sister to Grade I winner Kingsbarns and a half-sister to Grade III winners Sweeter Still and Belle Artiste. Sweeter Still is also the dam of dual Grade I winner Kameko.

Each of Galleria Borghese’s first four dams on the page has produced at least one stakes winner with her fourth dam also the granddam of Grade I winner Danish, who is the granddam of dual Grade I winner African Story.

The sire of seven stakes winners and three graded stakes winners, led by Grade I winner Tenebrism, Caravaggio leads all second-crop freshman sires by winners and sits second in every stakes category.