Sea The Stars

His dominance in 2009 was something to behold as he contested six Group 1 races and won them all, over distances ranging between a mile and a mile and a half. An audacious campaign in three different countries began with victory in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and ended, five months later, with glory in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris.   

In between, he also won The Derby, Coral-Eclipse, Juddmonte International and Irish Champion Stakes. It was a breathtaking selection of races, almost the stuff of fantasy, and yet each success was gained with something to spare against the best around on various types of ground. Mick Kinane, a jockey as cool, calm and collected as they come, was on board each time. 

“You couldn’t take on that sort of programme with every horse, but we knew this fellow had that unique constitution and would be able to do it if we didn’t have any bad luck with ground along the way,“ said John Oxx, his trainer, when announcing his own retirement in 2020. “I was always happy to say he was one of the greats and that’s good enough for me. The thing about Sea The Stars is that you only ever saw 75 or 80 per cent of what was in the tank. He always won comfortably and had plenty of gas left, as he didn’t exert himself too hard. He’s one of those great horses that only comes along now and then in a 100-year period.” 

Such giddy heights seemed unlikely when a gangly Sea The Stars finished fourth, staying on to be beaten by about a length on his debut as a two-year-old over 7f at The Curragh in mid-July. However, he was an impressive winner at Leopardstown the following month before signing off the season with victory in the Group 2 Beresford Stakes, over a mile, back at The Curragh. 

Timeform observed that “he will go into the winter as an interesting contender for the 2000 Guineas and Derby”, not least because his dam (mum) Urban Sea had already produced Galileo, whose exploits in 2001 had included victories in The Derby, Irish Derby and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. 

Oxx set his sights on the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, but Sea The Stars suffered a setback in March – a high temperature – that interrupted his training programme and left his participation in jeopardy. The trainer was left playing catch-up but his imposing pupil answered all the questions asked of him in the build-up and was a taking length-and-a-half winner from Delegator, at 8/1, despite an awkward start. 

The next stop was The Derby at Epsom, but there were some doubts about Sea The Stars getting the trip, while only Nijinsky (1971) and Nashwan (1989) had completed the Guineas/Derby double in the previous 38 years. Supporters of the 11/4 chance had few anxious moments, with Sea The Stars again travelling powerfully and quickening up on command. Kinane, just short of his 50th birthday, observed: “I was going easy all the way. It was like we were going in slow motion.” 

Fame And Glory, one of six runners in the premier Classic for renowned trainer Aidan O’Brien, went off the 9/4 favourite and chased him home. In all, O’Brien would field 22 runners against Sea The Stars that year without getting the better of him. 

The Irish Derby was next on the agenda, but Sea The Stars was a late defector, leaving the door open for Fame and Glory to win by five lengths. Instead, he ran against his elders over a mile-and-a-quarter in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown Park a week later and brushed aside Rip Van Winkle, another O’Brien inmate, by a length. 

He had become the first horse since Nashwan, 20 years earlier, to complete the Guineas/Derby/Eclipse treble – but he was only just getting started. 

The following month, he extended his winning spree at the expense of three O’Brien-trained runners in the Juddmonte International at York, in a record time, before completing a unique five-timer with a memorable success in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown. 

It had been the first time in almost a year that his fans in his native Ireland had got the chance to see him in action, his connections sportingly allowing him to run despite heavy rain in the days beforehand. His old rival, Fame And Glory, had the temerity to pass him early in the straight and briefly looked like he might turn the tables, but Sea The Stars powered back past him to win by two-and-a-half lengths, delighting the crowds cheering him home. 

Sea The Stars had achieved so much that calling time on his career was an option, but his constitution, temperament and wellbeing made a tilt at France’s biggest race, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, irresistible. 

Paris in the autumn has been one race too many for many great horses but Sea The Stars was more than equal to the task, despite meeting some traffic problems in the 19-runner contest. Once Kinane found room to manoeuvre, his mount, who was 4/6 favourite, accelerated away in trademark fashion to win by two lengths from Youmzain, who was finishing runner-up in the race for a third time. 

There was some speculation that Sea The Stars might have one final run at the Breeders’ Cup but, having been on the go all year and danced every dance in Europe, his connections called time on his phenomenal career. 

He ended with an official rating of 135, but he was not one to indulge in drubbings and one suspects it would have been even higher had he met opponents able to make him dig a little deeper into his reserves. For what it’s worth, Frankel, who came along a year later and revelled in pummelling rivals, was rated 136 at the end of his three-year-old career and would finish with a rating of 140. 

His success story has continued at stud, with his progeny including such as Classic winners Harzand, Taghrooda and Sea of Class, plus Stradivarius, Crystal Ocean and Baaeed.  

Sea The Stars becomes the eighth horse to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, following Frankel, Brigadier Gerard, Nijinsky, Mill Reef, Dayjur, Dancing Brave and Galileo. All of those were magnificent performers, yet none quite managed six triumphs at the highest level in one season.