BORN TO SEA : BORN TO RULE

Click above to watch Born To Sea winning the Blenheim Stakes (L)
(Image : V.Chandler - Footage : All The Doyles)

BORN TO RULE

If ever a horse was born into greatness, it had to be a sibling of the greatest stallion of our era, Galileo, and of arguably the best racehorse of the last decade, Sea The Stars. That horse is Born To Sea, who debuted in the very race that rocketed Brave Tin Soldier to stardom as a juvenile, the Blenheim Stakes (Listed) at 1200m at The Curragh. It wasn’t that he won it, it was the way he won it, and while his trainer John Oxx was loathe to draw comparisons with his illustrious brothers, he did say he had some big plans for the colt.

The son of Invincible Spirit (a sprinting son of Green Desert) is said to be an imposing looking individual, who ought to be better suited by longer distances. His dam, Urban Sea, was an “Arc” winner at 2400m, and both of her most illustrious progeny excelled at that distance. Of course, there’s no guarantee Born To Sea will stay any sort of a trip, but the Invincible Spirits have at least shown some versatility, the odd one (Lawman), prevailing in the French Derby at 2000m. (The French can be different, as we know, and their Derby is 2000m, not the conventional European 2400m).

Interestingly, in the same week, the only horse in history to have won a Breeder’s Cup Juvenile and a Kentucky Derby, Street Sense, celebrated some notable successes in the Keeneland salesring, no doubt on the back of what horsemen know of his progeny, and in a week in which several of his first crop put up convincing performances. With his credentials, few would be surprised to see Street Sense emerge as a cracking sire; we’ve seen a number of them at Southern Hemisphere sales, and they look the sort to find their best in their classic years. Anything that comes to pass while they’re juveniles (as they are at the moment), is a bonus. On the face of what we’ve seen so far, there’s cause for the crew at Darley America to have smiles on their dials.

We have a small syndicate of investors at Summerhill who annually raid the weanling sales in Australia, and in the context of this story, they seem to have hit the jackpot. They have a son of Street Sense who’s being aimed at the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale, from the immediate family of Galileo, Sea The Stars and Born To Sea. That’s not the kind of pedigree you’d expect to see at a sale in this country, and it’s a rare jackpot, not only for the vendors, but for anyone among the investing public with a modicum of Street Sense.

The Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale
Sunday 6th November

*Six cheque payment scheme for qualifying buyers.

Enquiries :
Linda Norval 27 (0) 33 263 1081
or email linda@summerhill.co.za
www.summerhill.co.za

SEA THE STARS TO STAND AT GILLTOWN STUD

Sea The Stars and Mick Kinane
(Image : ScottMultiMedia)

THE AGA KHAN TO BREED ZARKAVA TO SEA THE STARS

Sea The Stars, who was retired after a thrilling two-length victory over Youmzain in the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on October 4, will enter stud in 2010 at the Aga Khan’s Gilltown Stud in Co. Kildare, Ireland.

The Bloodhorse reports that the announcement was made early this morning in a release from Gilltown Stud and the family of Christopher Tsui, in whose colors Sea The Stars raced while trained by John Oxx. As part of the announcement, the Aga Khan said he would breed his champion filly Zarkava, the 2008 Arc winner, to the champion son of Cape Cross.

“Gilltown is an ideal stud for Sea The Stars to thrive and develop as a stallion, and there is no more appropriate place for him to stand than in his homeland and close to Currabeg, where he was trained by John Oxx,” Ling Tsui, mother of Christopher Tsui, said in a statement. “His Highness was kind enough to let us stand Sea The Stars at Gilltown while keeping ownership of him, and we are most grateful. The staff and facilities at Gilltown are top class, and Sea The Stars will enjoy his stay there.”

“Mrs. Tsui and Christopher’s decision to entrust the future career at stud of Sea The Stars to Gilltown Stud farm brings to everyone at the Aga Khan Studs, as well as to me personally, the greatest happiness,” the Aga Khan said in a statement. “We are all proud to have such a remarkable athlete join the Aga Khan stallions at stud, and we are convinced that the Aga Khan mares, who have produced outstanding racehorses during the last 50 years, will breed very well indeed to Sea The Stars.

“Mrs. Tsui and Christopher’s decision is certainly one of the most important developments for my operation since I inherited it in 1960. I am also most pleased that Mrs. Tsui and Christopher will be developing their own breeding operation with the help of their magnificent horse, Sea The Stars. This horse could also help develop relations to bring Chinese investment into the European bloodstock market.

“In keeping with the motto of the Aga Khan Studs ‘success breeds success,’ I look forward to the earliest opportunity to send my unbeaten champion Zarkava to Sea The Stars. I believe the last two Arc winners were made for each other both in terms of ability, temperament, and conformation. The best needs to be bred to the best.”

During his 2009 season, Sea The Stars won the stanjames.com Two Thousand Guineas (Gr1), Investec Epsom Derby (Gr1), Coral-Eclipse (Gr1), Juddmonte International Stakes (Eng-I), and the Tattersalls Millions Irish Champion Stakes (Gr1) before completing his career October 4 with a two-length victory in the Arc. This season he has earned $6,797,494. In 2008, at 2, he won two of three starts, including the Juddmonte Beresford Stakes (Gr3).

Bred by the Tsui family’s Sunderland Holdings in Ireland, Sea The Stars is out of Urban Sea, the dam of six other stakes winners and three champions: Urban Ocean, champion 3-year-old male in Ireland in 1999; Galileo, champion 3-year-old male in England in 2001; and Black Sam Bellamy, champion 3-year-old male in Italy in 2002.

Urban Sea, who died this spring after delivering a colt by Invincible Spirit, was champion older female in France following her victory in the Arc, and was honored as Broodmare of the Year in England and Ireland in 2001.

SEA THE STARS : THE END OF A BRILLIANT CAREER

Sea The Stars
(Photo : John Gichigi/Getty)

“Please click photo to enlarge…”

RETIREMENT OF SEA THE STARS

Christopher Tsui’s Sea the Stars will not race again after trainer John Oxx made the widely expected announcement.

Yesterday’s announcement brings to an end a run which may never be equaled, as Sea the Stars not only became the first in history to record the 2000 Guineas-Derby-Arc treble - Nijinsky narrowly failed at the final hurdle in 1970 - but also took in the three major 10 - furlong, all-aged contests of the summer in the Eclipse, Juddmonte International and Irish Champion Stakes.

John Oxx was left to reflect on a remarkable season later in the afternoon, and found it difficult to single out one of the six achievements as a personal favorite.

“It is hard to say there was any highlight with a horse like that, as they were all major races in their own right,” Oxx added. “When you win a Guineas and a Derby, it becomes even more important for him to win, and as the anxiety builds up as the year goes on, every race brings tremendous relief when it is over. I suppose winning the Derby was marvelous - the way he ran his race there was a joy to watch, with how he handled the track and coasted down the hill before sauntering up the straight waiting to go and win. That was a great sight, and it must be unusual for a trainer to watch his horse in the Derby and feel so comfortable with the way he is going right through the race. After that, he developed a great public following, and everybody quickly realised they were watching something special.

Oxx continued, “There has been great excitement every time from Sandown onwards, and he had a tremendous response from the crowds, and also the wider public towards the end as they realised that there was something special happening.

“In the Arc, I wasn’t as anxious as everyone else was, as although he ran along more strongly in the bridle than most people would like, he could do that and get away with it. I knew he had such a great turn of foot and he could get out of trouble. His success was down to a combination of everything, but mainly to his tremendous cruising speed. Ballydoyle tried their best to put in pacemakers and make it tough for him, but they could never get him off the bridle. He could just travel up behind any pace totally at ease - that’s his big thing - and then quicken up off it. He could do that because he has great heart and lungs, but he’s got this beautiful balance, lovely stride and a great length to him. He’s a big, strong horse – close-coupled in one way, but very long in another and he has this tremendous athletic stride. He also has a great temperament and never worries about anything, was always the calmest horse at the races, and it is courage and temperament at the end of the day that bring the best horses to a different level.”

On top of his unparalleled achievements at three, Sea the Stars also held a commendable record as a juvenile.

While he suffered a sole defeat on his debut when an eye-catching fourth at The Curragh last July, he was off the mark at Leopardstown the following month before registering his first black-type win in The Curragh’s G2 Juddmonte Beresford Stakes in September.

In total, the half-brother to leading sire Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) boasts a record of 9-8-0-0 while earning £

Stud arrangements have yet to be set, but there have been suggestions that the Tsuis are keen to stand him at the Irish National Stud. That County Kildare-based operation was the scene of his birth April 6, 2006, and currently houses Urban Sea’s final foal by Invincible Spirit. John Clarke, who is the chief executive of the Irish National Stud, also acts as racing manager to Ling Tsui and her son Christopher.

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News

SEA THE STARS IN A CLASS OF HIS OWN

Click above to watch Sea The Stars in the
2009 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe
(Footage : Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe)

QATAR PRIX DE L’ARC DE TRIOMPHE
2009 

It may be a day later, but revisiting the career of the biggest star in racing’s firmament (maybe of all time) has to be worth a read.

Guided by the incomparable nerve of Mick Kinane, Sea the Stars (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) emerged from the cauldron of the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with a reputation pitched into the stratosphere, registering an emphatic two-length success in yesterday’s 88th renewal.

The Thoroughbred Daily News reports that despite the scarcely believable exploits of the Tsui homebred so far in 2009, there was no sign of any wear-and-tear.

The 4-5 favorite over-raced from the outset, and continued to pull even after his jockey had buried him in the pack against the fence. While that is the quickest way around Longchamp, it is not a route without anxiety, and for a brief period in early stretch with space in short supply, it seemed as though his quest for immortality was in jeopardy. When a half-gap appeared, the brilliant winner of two Classics and a total of five Group 1s delivered his spellbinding acceleration to cut a swathe between the G1 Prix Vermeille protagonists Stacelita (Fr) (Monsun {Ger}) and Dar Re Mi (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}), and once he was in front with 250 meters remaining, the story was told. In the end, it was Youmzain (Ire) (Sinndar {Ire}) who emerged best of the rest to fill the runner’s - up berth for the third consecutive year. Trainer John Oxx was typically calm afterwards when saying, “It’s just a relief that he came through it and it’s wonderful that it’s over. He had to have the gears to get out, and Mick wouldn’t panic, because he knew he had them. We were not too alarmed at any stage.”

Sea The Stars first came to attention when registering a smooth maiden win at Leopardstown in August of 2008, each step of the journey for the latest product of the celebrated Urban Sea has been well-documented.

Following his comfortable win in The Curragh’s G2 Beresford Stakes - essentially a race for potential middle-distance prospects - the following month, John Oxx spoke of his desire to avoid pigeon-holing his rare talent. The G1 2000 Guineas was the first port of call this term. He proved at Newmarket he had the speed to sprint, and at Epsom on the first Saturday in June, he entered a small class of luminaries able to carry that pace over a mile and a half. Still in league with some past greats when adding the G1 Coral-Eclipse Stakes to both Classics, he began to distance himself from all but the very top runners in history by taking the G1 Juddmonte International and G1 Irish Champion Stakes with more than a degree of comfort.

Entering Europe’s endgame, which had proven a bridge too far for many of racing’s stars, the combination of perfect ground and his unshakable temperament kept confidence high. His enthusiasm was certainly intact in the first furlong, where only Dar Re Mi was ahead as he adopted his sprinter-miler persona and tugged for his head before calming to Mick Kinane’s hands as he found cover. Deep in the ruck on the final turn, his veteran jockey refused to give up the rail, and after being given the office, Sea the Stars skipped around the fading pacemakers with balletic poise before cutting down the competition in ruthless fashion.

The high-class fillies Stacelita (Monsun {Ger}) and Dar Re Mi (Singspile {Ire}) were the last rivals Sea The Stars saw as he raced into the lead, and although a batch of five Group 1 winners followed him home, he proved in a different category at the line.

FAME AND GLORY vs SEA THE STARS

Fame And Glory with Johnny Murtagh aboard
(Photo : Daily Mail)

DAVID vs GOLIATH

While Americans look forward to a clash between two generations of unbeaten fillies, Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra, Europeans look forward to their own battle royale, with Europe’s number one conditioner, Aidan O’Brien, relishing another crack at Sea The Stars with Fame And Glory.

His charge has twice finished runner-up to John Oxx’s super star, in the Investec Derby and the Irish Champion Stakes.

However the master of Ballydoyle feels he warrants a third tilt at his rival, in an evenly-run race over a mile-and-half for the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

“We are looking forward to it. Our horse has had his prep and we were very impressed with him at Leopardstown. He sat in there and for a horse who’d won an Irish Derby, we were very impressed with how he quickened up,” O’Brien told At The Races.

“There’s no doubt he has to improve but it was his first run back. He quickened up past Mastercraftsman and we were delighted with him.”

“The good thing is himself and Sea The Stars didn’t lock horns early and it could have been a gruelling race for his first run back.”

“The way it happened was lovely, Mick (Kinane) was very cool on his horse and picked him up late when Mastercraftsman just took a blow.”

“Hopefully the two of them will get to the Arc and all the questions will be answered.”