Galilee (1963−1990) was

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

bred

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse who became one of the most successful

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

s in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

.Pring, Peter; "Analysis of Champion Racehorses", The Thoroughbred Press, Sydney, 1977, Galilee was the first and is still the only horse to win the Caulfield, Melbourne and

Sydney Cup The Sydney Cup is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred handicap horse race, for horses three years old and older, run over 3200 metres at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in the autumn during the ATC Championships series and it is ...

s in one season.

Background

Galilee was a bay gelding who was foaled in 1963 at Trelawney Stud,

Cambridge, New Zealand Cambridge (Māori: ''Kemureti'') is a town in the Waipa District of the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. Situated southeast of Hamilton, on the banks of the Waikato River, Cambridge is known as "The Town of Trees & Champions" ...

. Galilee was sired by

Alcimedes In Greek mythology, Alcimedes (Ancient Greek: Ἀλκιμέδης) may refer to the following two characters: * Alcimedes, a variant of Alcimenes, a son Jason and Medea and brother of Tisander. * Alcimedes, one of the Achaeans who fought in the ...

*, from the mare Galston by Balloch*. He was purchased (and later trained) by champion trainer

Bart Cummings James Bartholomew Cummings (14 November 1927 – 30 August 2015), also known by his initials J. B. Cummings, was one of the most successful Australian racehorse trainers. He was known as the Cups King, referring to the Melbourne Cup, as he w ...

for £3,780 in

. Galilee was owned by an

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

builder, Max Bailey and his wife Venice, who also raced Ziema, who ran second in the 1965 Caulfield and Melbourne Cups.

Racing career

Ridden by

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

J. J. Miller, in the 1967

he carried to victory and won the race easily by six lengths, whilst in the 1966

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbou ...

, carrying he decisively defeated his stablemate

Light Fingers Light Fingers (1961−1988) was a New Zealand bred thoroughbred racehorse who won the Melbourne Cup in 1965. In 2017 Light Fingers was inducted to the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. Background The lightly built chestnut was by the highly succes ...

, who had won the cup the previous year. The champion racehorse also easily won such races as the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the

Toorak Handicap The Toorak Handicap is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race run as an open handicap race, over a distance of 1,600 metres at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia. Currently, the prizemoney is A$1,000,000. History The ...

and the C.B. Fisher Plate, in which he defeated champion middle-distance horse

Tobin Bronze Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

. Bart Cummings has often referred to Galilee as the best horse he has trained. It was not until

Saintly Saintly (21 September 1992 – 16 December 2016) was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who was named Australia's champion racehorse in 1997. A giant chestnut gelding by Sky Chase out of All Grace (by Sir Tristram), he was bred by his tra ...

, who won the Cox Plate-Melbourne Cup double in 1996, came along that comparisons were made. Galilee was inducted into the

Australian Racing Hall of Fame The Australian Racing Hall of Fame is part of the Australian Racing Museum which documents and honours the horseracing legends of Australia. The museum officially opened in 1981 and created the Hall of Fame in 2000. The numbers in brackets afte ...

Retirement

After retirement Galilee spent his years at the family horse stud, Beaufields near Gawler,

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. He is buried at the Gawler Racetrack in

.Gawler Barossa jockey club history
/ref>

References

External links

Galilee's pedigree and partial racing stats
1963 racehorse births 1990 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in New Zealand Racehorses trained in Australia Australian Racing Hall of Fame horses Melbourne Cup winners Caulfield Cup winners Sydney Cup winners Sport in Cambridge, New Zealand Thoroughbred family 5-b {{racehorse-stub