Churchill
A son of the great Galileo, examining the pedigrees of the 70 (at time of writing) Gr.1 winners by his sire can give us a strong clue as to how he will work.
A very significant 16 of them are out of mares by DANEHILL directly (including World Champion, Frankel) or his sons. Interestingly, three of those are by his son DANEHILL DANCER and in turn, one is by Danehill Dancer’s son, CHOISIR.
Churchill’s damsire is Storm Cat, one of Galileo’s most successful crosses. Storm Cat also has an affinity with NIJINSKY II, so mares carrying ROYAL ACADEMY, CAERLEON, BEL ESPRIT, WESTERN SYMPHONY, YEATS, WHISKEY ROAD, BLETCHLEY PARK, KALA DANCER or FANTASTIC LIGHT (damsire Nijinsky II) really appeal.
As FASTNET ROCK is by Danehill out of a ROYAL ACADEMY mare, he ticks all the boxes for Churchill.
Apart from Danehill, other sons of DANZIG to achieve at the highest level as damsire with Galileo are ANABAA (two Gr1 winners) and ELNADIM (damsire of Adelaide). Triple UK Gr.1 winner Australia is out of a daughter of CAPE CROSS, a grandson of Danzig.
Galileo’s dual Gr.1 winner Red Rocks is out of Danehill’s tail female family relation, MACHIAVELLIAN (also sire of STREET CRY).
Mares carrying ROBERTO have also worked well with Galileo, producing Gr1 winners including Igugu and Found (dams by INTIKHAB) and Mahbooba (dam by RED RANSOM). Sources of Red Ransom include mares by CHARGE FORWARD, DUPORTH, DOMESDAY, SRI PEKAN and ALL AMERICAN. Other damsires from the Roberto line include DR. FONG, SILVER HAWK, DYNAFORMER, KRIS S (sire of BROCCO), AT TALAQ, LEAR FAN and TOUCHING WOOD.
Churchill’s second damsire Air Express traces to FLAMBETTE, who is also the ancestress of SUCCESS EXPRESS, E DUBAI, AMERICAN ODYSSEY, DANZIG CONNECTION, OMAHA, FLARES, FREE FRANCE and JOHNSTOWN.
Gr.1 Stradbroke Hcp winner Linton is by Galileo out of a CENTAINE mare.
Line breeding to Sadler’s Wells’ tail female line has worked well for Galileo, in fact Churchill already carries Lorenzaccio and lesser known family member Topsider through his dam. Gr.1 winners New Approach and Curvy are also out of mares carrying LORENZACCIO. Dual Gr.1 winner Red Rocks has FAIRY KING as his second damsire. Mares from the NUREYEV line have also produced Gr.1 Winners Rip Van Winkle (dam by STRAVINSKY) and Together Forever (THEATRICAL). The United States, Hydrangea and Rhododendron are from mares by Nureyev’s grandson, PIVOTAL (sire of EXCELLENT ART and CAPTAIN RIO). Other representatives of this family include ENCOSTA DE LAGO, NORTHERN METEOR, PERUGINO, FALBRAV, HELISSIO, THATCH, THATCHING, VAL DE LOIR, GEIGER COUNTER, YEATS, INFLATE, WINDSOR SLIPPER, FOX MYTH, REFORM, CAMPO CATINO, TOPSIDER, FESTIVAL HALL, and OPEN DAY. ZABEEL mares not only carry Nureyev, they also carry family member Val De Loir.
BLUSHING GROOM is present in the pedigrees of six Gr.1 winners by Galileo, including triple Gr.1 winners Gleneagles, Noble Mission and Lush Lashes. Damsires carrying Blushing Groom include RAINBOW QUEST, QUEST FOR FAME, NASSIPOUR, FANTASTIC LIGHT, NOVERRE, REDDING, SPECTRUM, VISCOUNT and WAR PASS.
Mares by UMATILLA, BACHELOR DUKE, PAPAL POWER and TOUGH SPEED create a sex balanced duplication of their sire MISWAKI when mated with Churchill, as Galileo’s damsire is a daughter of Miswaki.
Galileo's second damsire Lombard is from the family of VAGUELY NOBLE. He can be sourced via mares by NOBLE BIJOU, DAHAR, GAY MECENE, EXCELLER, VAL D'ARNO or NOBLE DECREE. Gr.1 winner Niwot is out of a NOBLE BIJOU mare.
The presence of two prominent lines to Northern Dancer in Churchill’s pedigree suggests the inclusion of other ALMAHMOUD family members in mares, such as the aforementioned DANEHILL HALO (sire of DON'T SAY HALO and grandsire of MORE THAN READY), ORPEN, WAY OF LIGHT, MACHIAVELLIAN (sire of STREET CRY and VETTORI), ESPERERO, EXIT TO NOWHERE, CANNONADE, EL MOXIE, YOUTHFUL LEGS, ARCTIC TERN and L’EMIGRANT.
The MR. PROSPECTOR sire line looks very appealing for Churchill. Four Gr.1 winners by Galileo have Mr. Prospector up close in their dams' pedigrees, including two by KINGMAMBO. Mares by or carrying sires including FUSAICHI PEGASUS, HUSSONET, RHYTHM, STRAIGHT STRIKE, STREET CRY, UNBRIDLED'S SONG, E DUBAI, DISTORTED HUMOR, THUNDER GULCH, VETTORI, WOODMAN, FAPPIANO, GEIGER COUNTER or MACHIAVELLIAN are also candidates.