Annie Power and Galileo: Foal born at Coolmore Stud causes stir in racing - BBC Sport
Meet the well-bred baby son that is causing a stir in horse racing.
Last updated on .From the section Horse Racing

Mum is a massive catch in her own right. Dad is twice her age and a super stud who commands a dating fee thought to top at least £300,000 a time.

So the outcome of this stable relationship was bound to be keenly followed as Valentine's Day nears.

Now horse racing fans are celebrating the arrival of a boy - a foal born to dam Annie Power and sire Galileo.

Annie Power is a Champion Hurdle winner over the jumps while Galileo won the Derby at Epsom on the flat.

The powerful bosses at Coolmore Stud brought Annie Power to their Irish breeding base after she finished her racing career so she could mate with top stallions.

And they had one ready-made in 2001 Derby winner Galileo - the stud who is so sought after that his breeding fee is kept a secret, and father of the legendary unbeaten champion Frankel.
• None Who's the Daddy? The inside track on Galileo

While the birth was keenly awaited, there was also trepidation as the 2016 Champion Hurdle winner Annie Power lost her first foal after breeding with 2012 Derby winner Camelot.

Coolmore posted a cute picture of mother and child on social media on Tuesday under a post which read: "Brilliant racemare Annie Power with her first foal, a colt by Galileo born @coolmorestud #HomeOfChampions".

"The foal is a good, bay colt born on Saturday night. Annie Power is a great mother and both are doing well," a Coolmore spokesperson told BBC Sport.

How do the parents match up?

Won 15 times in 17 races for trainer Willie Mullins but her one fall was a famous one - coming down at the last in 2015 when leading the Mares' Hurdle under Ruby Walsh at the Cheltenham Festival.

That scuppered countless accumulators for punters who had backed a Mullins four-timer, and saved bookmakers an estimated £40m.

The chestnut mare, who went on to win the 2016 Champion Hurdle, was owned by an aptly named banker called Rich Ricci before he added to his riches by selling to Coolmore for an undisclosed fee.

Six victories in eight races only tell half the story of this horse who took the 2001 Derby at Epsom before winning the Irish Derby and King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes.

He has proved a breeding phenomenon off the track since retirement from racing later that year.

Galileo has been the champion European sire 10 times and has fathered 75 winners at the elite Group One level of racing.