DUAL Derby hero and phenomenal stallion Galileo (by Sadler’s Wells) already has a double-digit tally of sons who have sired at least one top-level winner on the flat and the roll of honour is headed by the northern hemisphere classic sires Frankel, New Approach and Teofilo.
If you extend that to Group/Grade 1 classics worldwide then the shorter list of those sons also includes Soldier Of Fortune, who is in his third season at The Beeches Stud.
He is out of a stakes-winning half-sister to the classic-placed Group 1 winner and notable Glenview Stud stallion Sholokhov (by Sadler’s Wells) – sire of Don Cossack and Night Magic – and comes from a prolific blacktype and Group 1 family.
Initially retired to Haras du Logis Saint Germain, in France, the Group 1 Coronation Cup and runaway Group 1 Irish Derby hero has some European stakes winners in those early flat crops, but his best come from his shuttle time in South America.
CLASSIC WINS
There his offspring include El Armenio, whose top-level wins feature the Grade 1 Premio Polla de Potrillos (2000 Guineas) in Peru, and Grade 1 star Rey Del Rock, who was born in Chile and who was only beaten a head in the Grade 1 Premio Dos Mil Guineas (2000 Guineas) there.
Of course, Soldier Of Fortune’s appeal here is now as a National Hunt stallion, and with the phenomenal success that the Sadler’s Wells line has enjoyed in that sector, combined with some impressive results for his early jumpers, it is easy to see why he is expected to make an impact in this new role.
His lightly-raced daughter Carlita Du Berlais won a listed hurdle race at Auteuil as a three-year-old, Grade 1-placed Tin Soldier has been a Grade 3 winner over hurdles at Tipperary from a handful of starts for the Willie Mullins stable, and the Nick Williams-trained Flying Tiger, who finished third to Buveur D’Air in the Grade 1 Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle in December, won last year’s Grade 3 Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
Even better, the Joseph O’Brien-trained mare Slowmotion has been a Grade 2 scorer over hurdles and won at both listed and Grade 3 level over fences, and the tragically ill-fated, Gordon Elliott-trained Mega Fortune gave his sire a first National Hunt top-level winner when beating Bapaume by three and a half lengths in the Grade 1 Spring Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown last year, a month before chasing home Defi Du Seuil in the Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham.
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE (IRE), Bay or Brown 2004. 2nd top rated 3yr old in Europe in 2007. Champion 3yr old in Ireland in 2007. Won six races, £1,341,073, from 1 mile to 1 mile 4½ furlongs, 2 to 4 years including, Budweiser Irish Derby, Curragh, Gr.1, Juddmonte Coronation Cup, Epsom Downs, Gr.1, Prix Niel Casino Barriere d’Enghien, Longchamp, Gr.2, Prix Noailles, Longchamp, Gr.2, MBNA Europe Bank Chester Vase, Chester, Gr.3, also 2nd Criterium de Saint-Cloud, Saint-Cloud, Gr.1, Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, Saint-Cloud, Gr.1, and 3rd Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Longchamp, Gr.1.
Retired to stud in 2010, and sire of the winners of over 700 races, and over £7,387,331, including JADIR (BRZ), NIETA QUERIDA (CHI), REY DEL ROCK (CHI), EL ARMENIO (CHI), RASGADO DE BIRIGUI (BRZ), FORTUNE DANZ (BRZ), NOGUEIRINHA (BRZ), FORTUNIQUE (FR), AMIE NOIRE (GER), BOKAN (FR), SHUTTERBUG (FR), FIRE FIGHTING (IRE), Sai Da Frente (BRZ), Cashman (FR), Lady Paname (FR), Flor De Canto (CHI), Tangananica (CHI), Glorioso Campeon (CHI), Semira (CHI), and King Of Normandy (FR), and sire of the winners of 92 races, and £2,180,594 under N.H. Rules, including MEGA FORTUNE (FR), EARLY DOORS (FR), FLYING TIGER (IRE), TIN SOLDIER (FR), SLOWMOTION (FR), CARLITA DU BERLAIS (FR), Time For Mabel (FR), Cornelius Sulla (IRE), Ponte Fortune (FR), Gold In Love (FR), Lucky Ruby (FR) and Urumqi (FR)
Stands at: The Beeches Stud, Lismore, Co Waterford, Ireland
Contact: Bobby McCarthy, Robert McCarthy, Peter Kenneally
Telephone: +353 (0)58 56254
Email: info@coolmore.com
Web: www.coolmore.com
Fee: €8,000