GALILEO’S dominance of this year’s Group 1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe was almost matched by that of Newsells Park Stud. The Hertfordshire stud farm co-owns and co-bred the winner Waldgeist, stand the runner-up Enable’s sire Nathaniel, and bred the fourth-place finisher Japan.

History was denied when Enable, winner of the Arc for the last two years, failed to cope with the strong finish from the five-year-old Waldgeist, but any disappointment should not take from the effort of the winner who is a deserving hero of the centrepiece of the weekend’s high-class programme at ParisLongchamp.

This was a fourth Group 1 success for the Andre Fabre-trained son of Galileo (Sadler’s Wells), and we await news of the future plans for the entire who comes from one of the best families in the German studbook. Owned in partnership with the Coolmore team until the end of his second season, Waldgeist has improved with age and his race record is one of great consistency.

In addition to the Arc he is on the winners’ roster for the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud at two, the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and the Group 1 Prix Ganay. He was runner-up at three in the Group 1 Prix du Jockey-Club/French Derby and his winnings now amount to some £4.3 million.

Waldgeist and Pierre-Charles Boudot winning the Group 1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe \ Healy Racing

This latest victory continues the great start the Monsun (Konigsstuhl) mare Waldlerche has made at stud. Waldgeist is her first and most important winner, and on the day he landed his second Group 1 win his year younger half-sister Waldlied (New Approach) gained the biggest of her two successes, winning the Group 2 Prix de Malleret. While connections were hopeful she would develop into a Group 1 performer, she damaged a tendon and that brought her racing career to a premature end.

The third offspring from Waldlerche is the John Gosden-trained Waldstern (Sea The Stars) and this dual winner was denied blacktype by a head on his latest start, finishing fourth in a Group 3 at Ascot last month. He will surely be placed to good effect by his handler. He races in the colours of Gestut Ammerland, while due to carry the same silks is the two-year-old colt Waldkonig (Kingman) who was sold as a yearling for 600,000gns. He is in the care of Gosden and, according to connections, is well regarded.

Also on the ground is a yearling filly by Galileo, a full-sister to the Arc winner. She is retained and will, in due course, be sent to Andre Fabre. Can lightning strike twice?

All of these blue-bloods are out of Waldlerche who won twice in France, notably capturing the Group 3 Prix Penelope, while she was runner-up in a listed race in Germany after transferring from Andre Fabre’s yard. She was ante-post favourite for the French Oaks, the Prix de Diane. Waldlerche was bred by the Jacobs family’s Newsells Park and the farm’s general manager Julian Dollar has said previously that Waldgeist’s grandam, the Group 2 Falmouth Stakes (now Group 1) placed Waldmark (Mark Of Esteem), held a special place in the heart of the late Klaus Jacobs.

This week Dollar added: “It’s a great tribute to Klaus Jacobs who started the stud nearly 20 years ago. He will be looking down on us and he would be so proud because the grandam of Waldgeist was his favourite mare. He bought her as a foal because he wanted to get into that family.

“He bred Waldlerche and now he’s bred an Arc winner. That’s everything he would have dreamt of doing, so for him it was very special and it was nice that his son Andreas was there. It’s special for the whole Jacobs family, as well as the whole team at home. It’s a great result and am very proud to be able to do it.”

In addition to Waldlerche, the juvenile winner Waldmark bred four other winners, including the Group 1 St Leger winner Masked Marvel (Montjeu) and the German stakes winner Waldnah (New Approach). After foaling the latter in 2012, she had no recorded offspring until a filly born in 2017 by Frankel (Galileo). That two-year-old is named Waldfabel, while this year Waldmark had a colt foal by Sea The Stars (Cape Cross).

There is a further notable update to the immediate family in 2019, thanks to Waldmark’s placed daughter Bright Beacon (Manduro). That mare’s current two-year-old is Al Dabaran (Dubawi) and he won the Listed Pat Eddery Stakes at Ascot and has been group-placed a couple of times.

Waldmark’s dam Wurftaube is a daughter of Acatenango (Surumu) and she was one of the best of her generation in Germany. She won seven of her 10 starts, notably running away with the Group 2 German St Leger. She was a Group 1 runner-up and has also been very successful at stud where her best offspring has been the Group 1 German Derby winner Waldpark (Dubawi). Other successful progeny include the classic-placed stakes winner Waldvogal (Polish Precedent).

A number of Waldmark’s siblings are doing well at stud, notably her full-sister Waldbeere (Mark Of Esteem). She did not race but at stud has produced three stakes winners, most recently the English and German group-winner and Group 1-placed sprinter Waldpfad (Shamardal).

Wurftaube’s stakes-placed half-sister Wurfspiel (Lomitas) is the dam of Wake Forest (Sir Percy), winner of the Grade 1 Man O’War Stakes, and grandam of last year’s Group 1 winning juvenile Wonderment (Camelot).

While there is no foal on the ground in 2019 out of Waldgeist’s dam Waldlerche, the good news is that she is safely in foal to Dubawi (Dubai Millennium).

The supply of superlatives to describe Galileo has been long exhausted. While for years we were amazed by the achievements of his own sire Sadler’s Wells (Northern Dancer), the dual Derby winner Galileo has surpassed him and his current tally of Group/Grade 1 winners stands at more than 80. In 2019 alone Coolmore’s pride and joy has sired the top-level winners Waldgeist, Magical, Japan, Anthony Van Dyck, Circus Maximus, Sovereign, Hermosa, Search For A Song and Love.