Galileo's Circus Maximus Digs In For Dee Win

By

Sir Dragonet (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) had laid down the gauntlet in the G3 Chester Vase 24 hours earlier and, while he was nowhere near as flashy as his stablemate, Circus Maximus (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) maintained the crowd-pleasing in Thursday's Listed Homeserve Dee S. as Ballydoyle's travelling show moved on at pace. Last seen finishing a length off Magna Grecia (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) when fourth in the G1 Futurity Trophy at Doncaster in October, Flaxman Stables and Coolmore's bay traded as the 5-4 favourite and raced handy early with Ryan Moore keen to exploit his stamina in Chester's rain-eased ground. Pushed up to take a narrow lead two out, the son of the high-class Duntle (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) kept finding to score by 1 1/4 lengths from the yard's Mohawk (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). That runner-up emerges with much credit racing under a five-pound penalty for his G2 Royal Lodge S. success, while Fox Chairman (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) was two lengths behind in third after suffering a slightly unlucky trip. “He didn't do a whole lot in the race, but he has plenty of ability and there is a big engine there,” Moore said. “He's still learning and not fully tuned in yet, but he has an awful lot of potential. He has plenty of speed, but stays very well and didn't take much out of himself.”
Circus Maximus, whose dam was stripped of her 2013 G1 Matron S. by the Leopardstown stewards but also captured Royal Ascot's G2 Duke of Cambridge S. and was runner-up in the G1 Prix Rothschild in these Niarchos silks, had broken his maiden in decisive style on heavy ground at Gowran Park in September. That performance was marked as much by greenness as his above-average ability, but he looked more professional when third behind Persian King (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) and Magna Grecia in what is looking one of the best pieces of juvenile form in 2018 in the G3 Autumn S. at Newmarket in mid-October. Sent to Doncaster along with Magna Grecia for the Futurity, he battled gamely to finish just out of the frame but significantly had made up two lengths on his subsequent G1 2000 Guineas-winning stablemate in a fortnight.
This display was notable for its tardiness in places, but studying of Ryan Moore's body language suggested he was always happy he had matters in hand. His spoken thoughts afterwards backed up that impression and Aidan O'Brien, who was winning this for an eighth time, confirmed that Circus Maximus is not one to exert himself. “He's a relaxed horse and a little bit lazy, so it's nice for him to come somewhere where they have to have quick feet,” the Ballydoyle maestro commented. “They have to jump and travel here and get a position and with the ground being on the slow side he had to stay as well. We left him in the Guineas until a late stage, but he needed to learn a bit and so the plan was to come here. Ryan said ideally he'd have preferred to have had a lead for longer. You'd have to be very happy with Mohawk as well. He travelled very well.”
Andrew Balding said of Fox Chairman, who ran into traffic on the approach to the short straight but finished strongly when in the clear, “I think he's a high-class horse and he was a little bit unlucky, but I don't think the result would have been different. Silvestre [de Sousa] said he was slightly inconvenienced by the softer ground, it was a bit softer than he had to encounter at Newbury and he lost his pitch. He's learning and while I need to speak to the owners, I would have thought we'll wait and go for the [G3] Hampton Court at Royal Ascot. He's a lovely horse and going forward, he will make a lovely four-year-old.”
Circus Maximus is the only foal out of Duntle, who is herself the leading performer for Lady Angola (Lord At War {Arg}). The latter is kin to the dam of the GI Turf Classic S.-winning sire Honor In War who was also by Lord At War, while the third dam Benguela (Little Current) is a half to four stakes winners. They are headed by the GI John Henry H.-winning sire Al Mamoon (Believe It) and the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup heroine La Gueriere, another product of Lord At War. She is in turn the dam of the GI Personal Ensign S. heroine Icon Project (Empire Maker) and the multiple graded-stakes scorer and GI Hollywood Derby runner-up Lasting Approval (With Approval).

Thursday, Chester, Britain
HOMESERVE DEE S.-Listed, £75,000, Chester, 5-9, 3yo, c/g, 10f 84yT, 2:16.51, g/s.
1–CIRCUS MAXIMUS (IRE), 126, c, 3, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Duntle (Ire) (MGSW & G1SP-Ire, GSW & G1SP-Eng, G1SP-Fr, $458,532), by Danehill Dancer (Ire)
2nd Dam: Lady Angola, by Lord At War (Arg)
3rd Dam: Benguela, by Little Current
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. O-Flaxman Stables Ireland Ltd, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith; B-Flaxman Stables Ireland Ltd (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. £42,533. Lifetime Record: GSP-Eng, 5-2-0-1, $91,958.
2–Mohawk (Ire), 131, c, 3, Galileo (Ire)–Empowering (Ire), by Encosta de Lago (Aus). O-Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor. £16,125.
3–Fox Chairman (Ire), 126, c, 3, Kingman (GB)">Kingman (GB)–Starfish (Ire), by Galileo (Ire). (450,000gns Ylg '17 TATOCT). O-King Power Racing Co Ltd. £8,070.
Margins: 1 1/4, 2, 1 1/4. Odds: 1.25, 7.00, 2.00.
Also Ran: Living Legend (Ire), Dark Jedi (Ire), Allmankind (GB). Scratched: Mohtarrif (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.

Copy Article Link

X

Never miss another story from the TDN

Click Here to sign up for a free subscription.