A talented son of Galileo prepared by Aidan O'Brien, Anthony Van Dyck was a
Group II winner and Group I placed last season as a juvenile and won the Listed
Lingfield Derby Trial at his first run back this year.Partnered by Seamie Heffernan, he was strong to the line to score a half length win in the Group I Epsom Derby beating Madhmoon (Dawn Approach) with Japan (Galileo) third and race favourite Sir Dragonet (Camelot) a close fifth.
"Anthony Van Dyck is a very solid horse. He danced every dance last year and did everything we asked of him. He ran a very good trial when winning at Lingfield. He passed all the tests to be fair to him," said Aidan O'Brien.
A half-brother to Champion NZ Sprinter and Group I winner Bounding from Australian bred Group III winning Exceed and Excel mare Believe'n'Succeed, Anthony Van Dyck has the overall record of five wins and two placings from nine starts.
He is the first Northern Hemisphere foal from Believe'n'Succeed , who was
purchased by Tom Magnier for $1.1 million at the 2014 Magic Millions National
Broodmare Sale. Believe'n'Succeed produced
a filly by Galileo for Coolmore this year and was then covered again by the
same sire.Believe'n'Succeed is a full sister to Darley's promising young sire Kuroshio, who has left winners in both hemispheres and another stakes-winner in Agulhas.
Bred by Darley and sold by them as a yearling at Magic Millions in 2007 for $300,000 to Victorian trainer Mark Kavanagh, Believe'n'Succeed was a fast precocious two year-old, winning a Group III MRC Blue Diamond Prelude and was fourth in the Group I MRC Blue Diamond Stakes.
Her champion daughter Bounding (by Lonhro) was bought by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings in 2016 at the Magic Millions Broodmare Sale for $1.9million and was exported to North America, while her mother Arctic Drift (USA) is still in the Godolphin broodmare band in Australia and has a weanling colt by Exosphere and is in foal to him again.
Anthony Van Dyck is the fourth Epsom Derby winner for Galileo joining his previous winners New Approach, Ruler of the World and Australia.
An Epsom Derby winner himself in 2001, Galileo dominated the field this year with 12 of the 13 runners either sired by him or his sons or grand-sons and the thirteenth, Sir Dragonet coming from his maternal family.
