Brilliant three-year-old St Mark’s Basilica has been retired. His trainer Aidan O’Brien describing him as possibly the best horse he’s ever had at Ballydoyle and Coolmore’s most important stallion prospect since Galileo.
St Mark’s Basilica will end his racing career as the joint top-rated horse in training and unbeaten at 3 following a flawless classic campaign that saw him win the Emirates Poule d’Essai des Poulains (French Two Thousand Guineas, G1), Qatar Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby, G1), Coral-Eclipse Stakes (G1), and Irish Champion Stakes.Speaking about St Mark’s Basilica’s brilliance and the decision to retire him, O’Brien told the Racing Post: “He’s a wonderful horse, possibly the best we have ever had in Ballydoyle. For us, he is as important a horse as has retired from here since Galileo, because he is a Siyouni. He gets his speed from him, and he relaxes and quickens and has all the determination from Galileo.
“After the Irish Champion Stakes he was grand, but he was sore again when we got him back up to full work so that’s why we had to pull back off him. I discussed it with the lads to let them know what the picture was. I ticked him over for a while and we had a chat about it.”
A son of Siyouni and Galileo’s G3 winning daughter Cabaret, St Mark’s Basilica is a half-brother to the Coolmore Stud based classic winner Magna Grecia.