23-year-old stallion put down because of chronic foot injuryWinner of 2001 Derby sired a record five sons of the raceGalileo, one of the most significant and successful stallions in racing history and a cornerstone of the Coolmore Stud breeding operation, has been put down at the age of 23 after suffering from “a chronic, non-responsive, debilitating foot injury”, the Stud said in a statement released on Saturday.
Galileo replaced his own sire, Sadler’s Wells, as Europe’s pre-eminent stallion, having provided Aidan O’Brien, his trainer, with his first Derby success at Epsom in 2001. He was impeccably bred on both sides of his pedigree, being out of Urban Sea, the 1993 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner, and made an immediate impact with his first crop of foals, which included Nightime, the 2006
Irish 1,000 Guineas winner.