Arc Winner Sea The Stars Is Set To Retire
Following Sea The Stars’ captivating victory in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp, it has been questioned whether he is the greatest Flat racehorse ever to have existed. The horse bred from Cape Cross and mare Urban Sea has provided horseracing with one of the greatest horses to ever grace the turf. So it has come as a bit of a shock to hear that he is going to be retired. Some, although well able to admit his brilliance refuse to believe that he is one of the three greatest racehorses of all time. Joe Mercer, a former champion jockey who rode Brigadier Gerard in the early 1970s, is one voice of skepticism. He fears that we are in danger of being swept up in the momentary hype, but he remembers horses such as Galileo who won the King George in 2001. Back then everyone thought that Galileo was the best horse that had ever been seen – and as Mercer affirms: you can’t have a best horse you’ve ever seen every other year! He points out that the horse he rode, Brigadier Gerard won thirteen Group Ones, whereas Sea The Stars has only won six.
Others though have been less hesitant to vilify Sea The Stars. Pat Eddery who rode Dancing Brave to victory in the Prix de l’Arc in 1986 has said that Sea The Stars is ‘up there with the best’, and laughed at the suggestion that he might resent the current champion being regarded by many as a better horse than the one he rode.
And Sea The Stars has done things that others more than likely would not have been able to achieve. He has been the first to complete the 2,000 Guineas-Derby-Arc treble and has destroyed the rest of the Classic generation – as well as Europe's best older horses – at eight, 10 and 12 furlongs or a mile to a mile-and-half. It has been expected that he would fail at some point, especially as throughout the season a horse will usually lose energy and tire, but not Sea The Stars. He has grown nothing but fitter, stronger and faster. He is the perfect horse, what every breeder in the world wants their horses to be. He has been trainer John Oxx’s project, and he has put him through his paces – six months of racing without a break, which is something that most horses who go on to compete in the Arc get. He has made jockey Mick Kinane, at the age of 50, look rejuvenated and his 27 year old owner Christopher Tsui act 16!
So why oh why is Sea The Stars, such a hugely successful racehorse, being sent to stud after just two seasons on the track? There are many who are devastated that he is not going to be sent to next month’s Breeders Cup Classic. But the Breeders Cup is an exacting test which could really exhaust the horse after he has already achieved so much. It may have put him ahead of Dancing Brave but after all, he has nothing left to prove – everyone has already seen what Sea The Stars is capable of.
