Galileo Sibling to Champion Tepin Set to Star at Gowran

Wednesday's undercard at Gowran for a meeting which features two listed fillies' races will see Cologne, a Galileo half brother to Tepin , twice champion female turf horse in North America, make his debut in the Open Singles Thursdays Maiden.

Racing in the silks of Georg Von Opel's Westerberg, the 3-year-old Galileo colt is another Aidan O'Brien-trained blueblood from the Coolmore production line.

His older half sister, who was bought in foal to Curlin   by M.V. Magnier for $8 million at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton November Sale, won six times at the highest level with her most notable victories coming in Royal Ascot's Queen Anne Stakes (G1) of 2016 and the 2015 Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) at Keeneland.

A daughter of Bernstein, Tepin won 13 of her 23 starts for Mark Casse and is a sister to the grade 2-placed Prime Cut . She is also a half sister to multiple grade 2 winner Vyjack  out of Life Happened , an unraced daughter of Stravinsky.

Life Happened also joined the Coolmore broodmare band and Cologne is her second colt by Galileo following Harvard and she has a 2-year-old sister to the pair. Last year she was covered by Wootton Bassett .

Her illustrious daughter was bought with Galileo in mind and after foaling a Curlin filly, she produced a filly by the champion sire who is now three and named Swirl, while she has a yearling daughter by him. Tepin was among the outstanding Coolmore mares sent to Dubawi  in 2021.

Seamie Heffernan is on board Cologne while Wayne Lordan takes the ride on another Ballydoyle newcomer in the increasingly prevalent Westerberg silks.

Lordan partners Middlemarch, from the first crop of Commonwealth Cup (G1) winner Caravaggio   and out of Jigsaw, a Galileo sister to Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes (G2) winner Mohawk . Middlemarch is the first foal out of Jigsaw, who O'Brien also trained, and she is out of the Encosta de Lago mare Empowering , winner of the Leopardstown One Thousand Guineas Trial (G3). Empowering is a half sister to the listed-placed Blue Angel .

Middlemarch is the third generation of his family to be bred by Aidan and Annmarie O'Brien's Whisperview Trading.

Of their opponents with experience, Dark Angel  colt Schiele has been third in each of his three starts including in his seasonal reappearance ten days ago.

Joseph O'Brien's runner is a brother to group 3 winner Angel's Hideaway  and to Perfect Angel , who was second to Harry Angel  in the Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes (G2). He cost Peter Brant's White Birch Farm €355,000 ($458,805) at the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale from breeder Yeomanstown Stud.