As ever, the 2023/24 flat campaign will be lit up by the five Classics of the 1,000 Guineas, the 2,000 Guineas, the Epsom Derby, the Epsom Oaks, and the St Leger Stakes. In common with any other year, these historic contests will bestow the ultimate prestige upon winning connections, cement the reputations of the star performers, and go some way towards shaping the future of the thoroughbred breed. However, this year also signifies the end of an era, with the 2024 editions of the Classics representing the final year in which we will see runners sired by the great Galileo going for glory.
Having passed away in 2021, Galileo’s last crop of juveniles took to the track in 2023, making 2024 the final year he will be represented amongst the classic generation. Boasting the world record for the most Group 1 wins by his progeny, Galileo has conquered all five Classics, with a record of five Derby wins, five in the Oaks, four in the 1,000 Guineas, three 2,000 Guineas, and two St Legers. Given how much he gave to the sport, one last hurrah would be a fitting tribute to one of the pillars on which the modern breed is built.
Galileo’s numbers may be down this year – with his output having dwindled as father time took hold – but the following 10 hopefuls look set to take their shot at adding one final layer of gloss to Galileo’s incredible record.
Andromeda
- Trainer – Aidan O’Brien
- Entries – Epsom Oaks
A full sister to Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Peaceful, the first Aidan O’Brien-trained filly on our list looks set to swerve the Newmarket Classic in favour of a tilt at the 1m4f event. She will need to step up on three second-placed finishes in her juvenile campaign but wouldn’t be the first from this yard to show huge improvement at three.
Content
- Trainer – Aidan O’Brien
- Entries – 1,000 Guineas, Epsom Oaks
Out of the top-class sprinting mare Mecca’s Angel, Content has an appealing mix of speed and stamina in her pedigree and showed immense potential in her debut campaign. Kept busy with seven outings at the track, she picked up a Group 3 success in the one-mile Staffordstown Stud Stakes and caught the eye when storming home for fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.
Flight of Fancy
- Trainer – Aidan O’Brien
- Entries – Epsom Oaks
The sixth runner produced by the Galileo/Inca Princess mating, Flight of Fancy will likely need to be the best of the bunch if she is to land a Classic. However, with five of her siblings achieving an official rating of 106 or above, she is from a rock-solid family and may make her presence felt in Group company.
Grosvenor Square
- Trainer – Aidan O’Brien
- Entries – Epsom Derby
This full brother to Irish Derby champ Santiago was one of the more eye-catching of the Gallileo juveniles last season – winning two or three starts, including an authoritative success on his final start in the Group 3 Eyrefield Stakes at the Curragh. Looking to boast stamina as his strong suit, Epsom appears an obvious target, followed by a possible shot at the St Leger.
Highbury
- Trainer – Aidan O’Brien
- Entries – Epsom Derby
Unraced at two, this bay colt out of the Group 3 winning sprinter High Celebrity is the toughest to assess on our list. The pedigree would suggest a mile might be his optimum, but with his only Classic entry coming at Epsom, he may have more in common with his sire than his dam. With his four full siblings failing to crack the 100 rating barrier, he would rate a surprising Classic winner.
Illinois
- Trainer – Aidan O’Brien
- Entries – Epsom Derby
As a half-brother to Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Danedream and a full brother to the Chester Vase winner Venice Beach, Illinois boasts plenty of appeal on paper. He hasn’t delivered on that yet but hasn’t been far off, with the pick of his efforts seeing him finish third in the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud. Unsuited by the heavy ground when third in the Ballysax Stakes, he is expected to leave that effort well behind as the season progresses.
Mr Hampstead
- Trainer – Roger Varian
- Entries – Epsom Derby
Mr Hampstead is one of only three runners on our list not trained by Aidan O’Brien – hailing instead from the Newmarket yard of Classic winning trainer Roger Varian. Out of the American Oaks winner Daddys Lil Darling, Mr Hampstead is a full brother to Savethelastdance, who won the 2023 Irish Oaks and finished second in the Epsom equivalent. Looking like a work in progress at two, he’s one to keep an eye on this year.
Roadshow
- Trainer – Andre Fabre
- Entries – Epsom Derby
16 years after famously landing the Derby with Pour Moi, legendary French trainer Andre Fabre may bid to repeat the trick with this son of the Queen Mary Stakes winning speedball, Acapulco. An impressive winner over seven and a half furlongs on debut, 1m4f looked to stretch him at Saint-Cloud on his seasonal return, but he may have needed the run following his winter break.
Rubies Are Red
- Trainer – Aidan O’Brien
- Entries – Epsom Oaks
As a full sister to the Breeders’ Cup Turf and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe-winning mare Found, Rubies Are Red looks the part on paper. Placed on her sole juvenile outing, she found one too good on her seasonal return at Leopardstown, but her pedigree suggests she will improve when tackling quicker conditions.
Sam Hawkens
- Trainer – Richard Hannon Jnr
- Entries – Epsom Derby
Another runner aiming to combine stamina and class with raw speed, this Richard Hannon inmate is the son of the Group-class sprinter Perfect Angel. On the form book, this one possibly has the most to do to develop into a live classic contender, although there were signs of promise in his unlucky in running fifth at Newbury on his final start at two.