Coolmore has announced that Circus Maximus has been retired. The son of Galileo will take up stallion duties at its Irish base for the 2021 breeding season at a fee of €20,000.
A Niarchos homebred who is the only foal out of dual Royal Ascot winner Duntle, Circus Maximus also scored twice at the Royal Meeting, capturing this year’s Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes and last year’s edition of the Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes.
As a three-year-old in 2019 he also got the better of Romanised, Olmedo, Phoenix Of Spain and Line Of Duty to take the Group 1 Prix du Moulin. He was last seen finishing a close second to Order Of Australia in last week’s Breeders’ Cup Mile.
Trainer Aidan O’Brien paid tribute to the son of Galileo and said: “Circus Maximus is very tough and travels with a lot of speed. He’s that type of horse that can often make very good stallions. We’ll definitely be breeding to him.”
Wootton Bassett, standing his first season at Coolmore in 2021 having been recruited from Haras d’Etreham in France, is available to breeders at a fee of €100,000 while Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe hero Sottsass has been priced at €30,000.
