CIRCUS Maximus added a second Group 1 to his curriculum vitae in ParisLongchamp last weekend when he followed up his victory in the Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot with success in the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp.

Circus Maximus (Galileo) is the only offspring of Duntle (Danehill Dancer) and this latest win came a week ahead of the anniversary of his dam’s finest effort and an uncomfortable memory. She won five of her nine starts but was demoted after passing the post first in the Group 1 Matron Stakes at Leopardstown. Duntle was also runner-up in the Group 1 Prix Rothschild, third in the Group 1 Sun Chariot Stakes and her victories included the Group 2 Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Duntle is the best of six winners from Lady Angola (Lord At War) and was bred and originally raced by Airlie Stud’s Sonia Rogers, who failed to sell the filly as a foal and again as a yearling. Duntle was eventually sold after winning a maiden on her second start. Lady Angola is closely related to the best horse in the third generation of Circus Maximus’s family, Grade 1 Turf Classic winner Honor In War (Lord At War). He is out of Lady Angola’s winning half-sister Catumbella (Diesis).

The fourth dam of Circus Maximus is Lady Winborne (Secretariat) and she raced twice, winning a maiden and finishing third in the Group 3 Brownstown Stakes. She was a half-sister to the brilliant Allez France (Sea Bird) whose Group 1 successes included the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Prix Ganay twice, the French 1000 Guineas and Oaks (Poule d’Essai des Pouliches and Prix de Diane), Prix Vermeille and Prix d’Ispahan.

The best of Lady Winborne’s 13 winners was Al Mamoon (Believe It) who won the Grade 1 John Henry Handicap and was runner-up in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Mile, while her daughter La Gueriere (Lord At War) won the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Stakes and bred the Grade 1 winner Icon Project (Empire Maker).