He may have had an awkward walk, but at the gallop Galilee was a powerhouse

Galilee was foaled in 1963 at Trelawney Stud Cambridge New Zealand. The bay gelding was sired by Alcimedes, from the mare Galston (by Balloch). He was purchased by champion trainer Bart Cummings for £3,780 in New Zealand, (about $37,000). Bart often took sojourns across the Tasman with the aim of purchasing well-bred staying horse flesh for the future. He was keen on the tough, staying pedigree types he could access on the NZ shores and had sourced the 1965 Melbourne Cup winner by leasing the lightly built, New Zealand bred filly, Light Fingers. Galilee was owned by an Adelaide builder, Max Bailey and his wife Venice, who also raced Ziema, 2nd in the 1965 Caulfield and Melbourne Cups. The pigeon-toed gelding with the suspect action was once described by jockey John Miller as an “express train” and he displayed this potential early in his career.

Galilee made his debut in a Gawler 2yo event with John Miller in the saddle. Under the guidance of young trainer Bart Cummings, Galilee showed his ability by winning seven of his eleven starts as a three-year-old in South Australia, however as a four-year-old in 1966, Galilee unveiled his elite champion qualities. After a second in the Epsom Handicap behind Chantal, he won the Toorak Handicap in brilliant style, winding up from last and powering home out wide in an awesome display. The race caller commented, "What sort of motor has he got, a tiger in the tank that fellow." Roy Higgins the jockey who rode him in two wins said, "he's a fantastic horse, the only problem is, it takes him a mile to warm up, but what a finisher." Despite Cummings high opinion of the horse, by this point in his career he is gelding had developed a scratchy action, which made him appear lame to most observers. Bart determined it was just a characteristic of the horse, and when striding out the horse seemed just fine, even though there was always an element of doubt over his soundness. The vets could never find a legimate reason and agreed with Bart.

In the Caulfield Cup, Cummings instructed Miller to canter down on the blindside of the clerk of the course horse when passing the grandstand to avoid the stewards viewing his action prior to the race. Galilee was at 15/1, with Tobin Bronze the odds-on favourite after winning the Victorian Derby in 1965, and a host of black type races in 1966. Galilee sat well back, as Tobin Bronze fired up and burst to the lead on the turn. However, the "Bronze Bullet" had encountered a torid run and fell apart in the final stretch as Galilee flew past him to snatch victory. It was followed up by a magnificent victory in the Melbourne Cup, beating classy stablemate and 1965 winner, Light Fingers, easing down to the line by two lengths and proving too good for the mare. The footage that exists shows the true power of Galilee, with his high head carry when stirred up and supreme staying strength. On the final day of Flemington, he completed a triumphant spring carnival by defeating weight-for-age champion, Tobin Bronze, in the C.B. Fisher Plate. The NZ bred stayer had just dominated the Victorian Spring Carnival of 1966, winning both the prestigious Caulfield and Melbourne Cups in decisive fashion. The brilliance of Galilee can be gauged from the class of Tobin Bronze, twice winner of the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley, and Light Fingers, the 1965 Melbourne Cup winner.

The following autumn Galilee trounced his opposition in the Sydney Cup, becoming the first horse to win the big treble in the same season - a distinction he still holds alone today. In the autumn of 1967 Galilee won the Queen's Plate, Queen Elizabeth Stakes in Melbourne, and the AJC Autumn Stakes. Starting a 6-4 on favourite and carrying 9st 7lbs (60.5kg), he won the Sydney Cup by six lengths in what was considered one of the finest staying performances ever seen in Australia. Therefore, Galilee remains the only horse to ever win the so called ‘Triple Crown’ for stayers in one season, a feat that may never be repeated. Bart never confirmed nor denied this, but it is commonly reported that Galilee broke down with 6 furlongs to run in the Sydney Cup. There is no doubt he was injured sometime during the run because he did not run for 18 months after this race. It turned out to be a bone splint in Galilee’s foreleg that was serious enough, virtually ending his career.

Galilee did go on to win the Memsie and Turnbull Stakes in 1968, but he was never the same horse after sustaining that injury. Bart Cummings believed Galilee was the best horse he ever raced, or at the very least, the best benchmark horse based on his time form rating of 134; and the master should know, because he trained a few good ones in his time. After further injury forced Galilee's retirement in 1969, the gelding spent his years at the family horse stud, Beaufields near Gawler, in South Australia. He is buried at the Gawler Racetrack. Galilee was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2005.

RACE RECORD - 36: 18-6-4

EARNINGS - $169,970

Major Wins 

Toorak Handicap (1966)

Caulfield Cup (1966)

Melbourne Cup (1966)

C.B.Fisher Plate (1966)

VRC Queens Plate (1967)

VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes (1967)

AJC Autumn Stakes (1967)

Sydney Cup (1967)

Memsie Stakes (1968)

Turnbull Stakes (1968)