Beautifully Bred Galileo Fillies Complete Irish Guineas 1-2

Two Galileo bluebloods fought out the finish to Sunday’s Irish 1,000 Guineas, with Empress Josephine (3f Galileo - Lillie Langtry, by Danehill Dancer) edging out stablemate Joan Of Arc (Galileo) in a 1-2 for Coolmore homebreds.

The own-sister to Minding made a winning debut in March and chased home Too Soon To Panic (Gleneagles) in a Listed contest on her third start earlier this month. Dropping back in trip at the Curragh, Aidan O’Brien’s charge raced towards the back of the field, with Seamie Heffernan waiting until two furlongs out to deliver a challenge. Making good headway, she joined the leader close home and dug deep to win by a short head, with another length back to the third.

Empress Josephine becomes Aidan O’Brien’s tenth winner of the Classic, with six of those winners being daughters of Galileo. “We thought this filly was very good after her maiden and we thought coming back to a mile and taking our time with her might suit,” O’Brien later commented. “We'll see what the lads want to do but we could have a look at a Coronation with her.”

The runner-up Joan Of Arc (Galileo) is an own-sister to Gleneagles and Marvellous, she having won the 2014 running, and of her, O’Brien said, “She ran a stormer as well. She might go to the French Oaks next time.”

There should be more to come from the lightly-raced winner, whose sister Minding won no less than seven Group 1 races. Another full-sister, Kissed By Angels (Galileo), won the Group 3 Irish 1,000 Guineas Trial, while their dam Lillie Langtry (Danehill Dancer) won twice at the highest level.