World champion stallion Galileo has died, aged 23

PA Sport Reporters
July 10, 2021 3:15 pm

Superstar colt won the Derby, Irish Derby and King George in 2001.

World-leading stallion Galileo has died at the age of 23, Coolmore have announced.

The sire of Frankel and so many other great champions, the Aidan O’Brien-trained son of Sadler’s Wells was a brilliant racehorse in his own right.

His finest hour came at Epsom in the 2001 Derby, before he followed up in the Irish Derby and the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Coolmore said in a statement on Saturday: “Regretfully our world-renowned Champion Sire Galileo was put to sleep earlier today on humane grounds owing to a chronic, non-responsive, debilitating injury to the left fore foot.”

Mick Kinane returns victorious on Galileo at Epsom (Martyn Hayhow/PA)

John Magnier paid tribute to a horse that leaves a “lasting legacy”.

He said: “It is a very sad day, but we all feel incredibly fortunate to have had Galileo here at Coolmore.

“I would like to thank the dedicated people who looked after him so well all along the way. He was always a very special horse to us and he was the first Derby winner we had in Ballydoyle in the post M V O’Brien era.

“I would also like to thank Aidan and his team for the brilliant job they did with him. The effect he is having on the breed through his sons and daughters will be a lasting legacy, and his phenomenal success really is unprecedented.”