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Galeazzo
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Galeazzo was a well-traveled son of Galopin, achieving great success in Italy, where he got a number of classic winners and some daughters that were exceptional producers.
He was bred at Leopold de Rothschild's large Southcourt Stud near Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire from Eira, a mare descending from a line of Rothschild family mares established by One Thousand Guineas winner Mentmore Lass (1850, by Melbourne). Hannah, a King Tom daughter of Mentmore Lass, was a superior runner for Rothschild's uncle, Baron Mayer de Rothschild; she was winner of the Oaks, One Thousand Guineas and St. Leger in 1871. Eira was a great-grandaughter of Mentmore Lass through the King Tom daughter Breeze. Eira, who was by Derby and Grand Prix de Paris winner Kisber, also produced Galeazzo's half-sister, Taia (1892, by Donovan) who became the dam of the great stayer Radium, winner of the Doncaster Cup, Goodwood Cup and Jockey Club Cup (twice). Radium was later a sire at Southcourt, and through his son, Night Raid, was grandsire of the great Australian horse Phar Lap. Another horse born at Southcourt in Galeazzo's year, 1893, was St. Frusquin, later winner of the Two Thousand Guineas for Rothschild, and runner-up to Persimmon in the Epsom Derby.
Galeazzo was shipped to Rothschild's Palace House stables at Newmarket to be trained by Alfred Hayhoe, perhaps not the most tender of trainers. As a juvenile Galeazzo ran five times and proved to be a promising juvenile by winning the Rous Memorial Stakes at Goodwood and the Chesterfield Nursery Stakes at Derby, in the latter race beating 24 other youngsters, including Canterbury Pilgrim (giving her 21 pounds; she won the Oaks the following year); he also ran second in Newmarket's July Stakes. He did not run in the classics, his stablemate St. Frusquin being deemed the superior, and possibly sturdier, runner. He came out three times at age three, winning the 8 furlong Newmarket Biennial Stakes, running fourth in Newmarket's March Stakes, and winning the 10 furlong Newmarket Stakes (in which he beat Bay Ronald). His tendon gave way on the hard ground in that race, and that was the end of his brief career, with four wins and one second from eight starts over two limited seasons, winning a total of £5,427.
Galeazzo was sent to stud at the sumptuously-furnished and large Haras de Meautry, Baron Edouard de Rothschild's stud in Normandy, France, where a large number of British and French-bred mares were lodged. He scarcely had time to settle in before, after two seasons there, he was purchased by Count Felice Scheibler, a prominent breeder and owner of thoroughbreds in Italy whose horses ran under his assumed name of "Sir Rholand." Galeazzo did leave some good runners behind in France, including the Baron's GLACIER, winner of the 2400 meter Prix Noailles in 1902. In 1907 he was sent back to England, where he spent 3 seasons, and was shipped back to Italy in 1910, dying there in 1916.
During his English interregnum he sired ATMAH (1908, from Mrs. Kendal), winner of England's One Thousand Guineas in 1911 for James de Rothschild, who had purchased her pregnant dam, Mrs. Kendal, a few months before her birth.
In Italy, Galeazzo was a marked success as a stallion, getting a number of classic winners for the count, propelling him to the top of the leading owner's list several times. Galeazzo was in the top five in the leading sire's list in Italy several times. His classic winners included Italian Oaks winners WISTERIA, in 1910, and GALLIFLORA in 1915, and Italian Derby winners SATURNO (1907) and KOSHENI (1913); in Kosheni's Derby, all three placed horses were by Galeazzo (second was Hamisi, and third was Flower Boy). He got a very good runner and sire son in KIBWESI (1913, out of Lady Challacombe), who won twelve of his thirteen races, including the Italian St. Leger, the Premio Chiusura, the Premio Principe Amedeo, and other important Italian races, at distances from seven furlongs to 1-3/4 miles; he never competed abroad, as his three-year-old season was 1916, in the midst of war. Kibwesi went on to become a leading sire in Italy. He is seen in the pedigree of the great Italian racehorse Orsenigo, a leading sire and leading broodmare sire in Italy and a phenomenal success at stud in Brazil. Kibwesi was also dam's sire of Sirte, winner of the Grand Prix of Milan, who was later sent to the U.S., where he became a sire of steeplechasers and a sire-line progenitor of some good show hunters. Another son, PROMETEO, was among the leading sires in Italy the 1920s.
Galeazzo proved to be an excellent broodmare sire in Italy. His best daughter was GIOTTINA, the dam of a slew of classic winners in Italy, among them Ghiberti, winner of the Italian Derby, Gianpietrina (Italian Oaks and Italian 1,000 Guineas), Giovanna Dupre (Oaks, Gran Premio del Jockey Club), Gherarda delle Notti (1,000 Guineas), and Gerard, winner of the Criterium Nazionale and the Grand Criterium. Another daughter, AQUILEIA, was dam of 1929 Italian 1,000 Guineas winner ARCIBELLA, and another daughter, MEDANA, produced 1925 Gran Premio del Jockey Club winner Major.
--Patricia Erigero
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