The global influence of the legendary Coolmore stallion Galileo (Ire) over the past 15 years is nothing short of sensational. He has sired 312 stakes winners, with his progeny earning over $340 million and winning most of the biggest races around the world including multiple English and Irish Derbies, Prix de l'Arc de Triomphes and even our own Cox Plate.
But there remains one special race the star stallion is yet to claim; the Melbourne Cup.
Galileo's progeny have contested the Flemington 3200 metre race on 22 occasions since 2007. The closest result came in 2007 when Purple Moon (Ire) and Mahler (GB) finished second and third, and in 2017 when Johannes Vermeer (Ire) was runner-up. None of the remaining 19 combatants finished inside the top seven.
Last year's winner Cross Counter (GB) is by Teofilo (Ire) as son of Galileo (Ire)
However, the famous sireline produced last year's winner Cross Counter (GB) - who is by Teofilo (Ire), Galileo's son.
In 2019, he is the most dominant sireline in the Melbourne Cup. Galileo has four representatives himself, the same as his outstanding son Frankel (GB), while his other sire sons Teofilo has two and Nathaniel (Ire) has one.
All in all, that's 11 of the 24 runners who have the Coolmore great as either their paternal sire or grandsire.
Extend that back to Galileo's own legendary sire Sadler's Wells (USA) and the influence grows even further. Sadler's Wells' grandson Camelot (GB) has three runners, while his son High Chaparral (Ire) has two, resulting in two thirds of the field paternally descending from Sadler's Wells. This sireline is searching for a third straight success in the Melbourne Cup and the fifth overall.
Two thirds of this year's field paternally descend from Sadler's Wells (USA)
The 2019 Melbourne Cup field is notable for the concentration of stallions represented, with just 14, historically a very low number. In comparison, there were 21 sires represented last year and 20 in 2017.
The influence of both Aidan O'Brien and his son Joseph is significant. All four of Galileo's 2019 representatives, Il Paradiso (USA), Magic Wand (Ire), Constantinople (Ire) and Southern France (Ire), are either former or current Ballydoyle horses.
2017 Cup winning trainer Joseph O'Brien has four horses in the race, with Latrobe (Ire) and Downdraft (Ire) by Camelot (GB), the same sire as his father's chance Hunting Horn (Ire), while Twilight Payment (Ire) is by Teofilo and Master Of Reality (Ire) by Frankel.
2017 Cup winning trainer Joseph O'Brien has four horses in the race
Frankel's growing influence is not surprising considering the desirability of his progeny. A win on Tuesday would represent his first Group 1 success in Australia. He had his first two runners in the Melbourne Cup last year in Finche (GB) and Rostropovich (GB), who finished fourth and fifth. They back up this year for Chris Waller and Lindsay Park respectively.
The sires represented in the 2019 Melbourne Cup highlight the increasingly global nature of the race, with stallions bred in USA, Germany, Japan, Great Britain and Australia.
The USA is represented by War Front's son Declaration Of War (USA) (Vow And Declare), Germany with Lando (Sound {Ger}) and Shirocco (Prince Of Arran {GB}), Japan with Rulership (Mer De Glace {Jpn}) and Great Britain with Medicean (Mustajeer {GB}).
Gallery: Australasian sires represented in the 2019 Lexus Melbourne Cup
The two Australian-bred stallions represented in the race are both now based in New Zealand in Waikato Stud's Savabeel (The Chosen One {NZ}) and Rich Hill's Shocking (Surprise Baby {NZ}).
Surprise Baby (NZ) is looking to become the first progeny of a Melbourne Cup winner to win the famous race since Black Knight (Silver Knight {NZ}) in 1984.
The great Cup bloodlines
While Sadler's Wells has been the dominant sireline for the past two years, it was previously Monsun (Ger), who produced three Melbourne Cup winners between 2013 and 2016.
Before this decade, and noting Desert King (Ire) sired three straight Cup winners - of course all won by Makybe Diva (GB), it's back to the impeccable Sir Tristram (Ire) to see another dominant sireline take control of the race.
Sir Tristram (Ire)
The Cambridge Stud icon sired three winners in his own right in Gurner's Lane (NZ), Empire Rose (NZ) and Brew (NZ), emulated by his son Zabeel (NZ) with Might And Power (NZ), Jezabeel (NZ) and Efficient (NZ). Sir Tristram was also the broodmare sire of 1996 winner Saintly (Sky Chase {NZ}) and 2001 winner Ethereal (NZ) (Rhythm {USA}).
Sir Tristram won with his first runner in 1982, then had 29 runners before his final entry, Spirit Of Westbury (NZ) in 2001. He had four representatives in 1986, with three runners on four other occasions.
Zabeel (NZ)
Like his sire, Zabeel had a winner with his first runner in 1997, he then quinellaed the 1998 edition with mares Jezabeel and Champagne (NZ). His foal crops and Cup representatives then rose considerably and in two editions, 1999 and 2005, he had six progeny engaged in the race. He also had four run in 2012. All in all, Zabeel had 43 Melbourne Cup runners, with his final entry, Zacada (NZ) last year.
In 2019, the Sir Tristram sireline is represented by The Chosen One (NZ), who is by Zabeel's son Savabeel, while Surprise Baby is out of a mare by Sir Tristram's son Kaapstad (NZ).
