Galileo Gold filly Oscula again drew admiration from all corners of the racing world on Monday with a gutsy success in the Group 3 Prix de Lieurey at Deauville.
Backing up just days following her win in the Group 3 Oak Tree Stakes at Goodwood and subsequent fourth in the Listed Dick Hern Stakes at Haydock Park, Oscula made headway in the final furlong to challenge the leader under Ryan Moore before fending off the Kodiac filly By All Means to win by a neck.
As such, her race record for George Boughey currently reads as follows:
Wins in the:
Group 3 Prix Six Perfections - Deauville
Group 3 Oak Tree Stakes - Goodwood
Group 3 Prix de Lieurey - Deauville
Listed Eternal Stakes - Carlisle
Placings in the:
Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac - Longchamp
Group 2 Prix du Calvados - Deauville
Group 2 Rockfel Stakes - Newmarket
Group 3 Albany Stakes - Royal Ascot
Group 3 Valiant Stakes - Ascot
Listed Surrey Stakes - Epsom
Listed Coral Distaff - Sandown Park
"She's a remarkable filly," said Boughey. "She's only had the saddle on her back four times in between runs, but she's so tenacious and I don't think I'll ever train another horse as gutsy as her," Boughey said. "She had to travel 12 hours in this heat and she's an advert for Nick Bradley - -he wanted to run where I possibly might not have- - and for everyone at home, but she was so fresh the other morning I had to put her on the box and bring her. She's very good around a bend, so I'd like to go for the Foret - they would go a good gallop and it can come up soft for that."
Owned by Nick Bradley Racing 20, Oscula was a Tattersalls October yearling purchase by Michael Aguiar and was bred in Ireland by Padraig Williams out of Bisous Y Besos, by Big Bad Bob. The mare is a half-sister to the Listed-placed Coeur d'Amour and from the further family of high-class sprinter Galeota.
“It was a great performance, I knew today would suit her – slowly-run race, running round a bend,” Nick Bradley said. “It’s about who has got the most guts and who has got the most speed at the end of a race and nine times out of 10, it’s her.
“You could buy a thousand horses and not get one with the heart that she’s got. Ryan’s job was so easy, she was exactly where we wanted her to be and she just outbattles them. She’s got so much fight.
“I’ve run her seven times over the past months, she’s won three times, the only time she didn’t come in the top three was last week when things just didn’t go her way. She’s an absolute superstar.”
With eight stakes horses to his credit, Galileo Gold is a leader among his contemporaries at stud. In addition to Oscula, his best runners include Group 1 winner Ebro River and the Listed winners Maglev and System.
