Sea the Stars

Sea The Stars started his racing career at Curragh in July 2008. Still very green and boxed in in the final furlong, he finished a close fourth behind subsequent US Grade 1 winner Driving Snow.

He won his second race easily at Leopardstown by 2+1⁄2 lengths, taking the lead 2 furlongs out and never being threatened.

In the last race of his 2-year-old campaign, Sea The Stars won the Group 2 2008 Beresford Stakes at the Curragh by 1⁄2 length from stablemate Mourayan and Ballydoyle's Masterofthehorse. This turned out to be his closest race.

Sea The Stars completed a perfect three-year-old campaign, winning six Group 1 races in six months, including two English Classic races and one Europe's most prestigious 3-year-old and up race. His three-year-old record is described by many as the best of modern thoroughbred racing.[3]

Sea The Stars was rested over the winter, and John Oxx entered him in the 2009 2000 Guineas without a prep race. Despite this, he started 8-1 in the betting behind Craven Stakes winner Delegator (3/1f). There were concerns about his preparations because of a setback on 17 March due to a viral infection and a temperature. He rested for 2 weeks, which hampered his preparation for the Guineas. However, Oxx still wanted to give him his chance at a mile, and a good workout the week prior to the race encouraged Oxx to declare him.

Travelling well throughout the race, Sea The Stars pulled clear of the field in the final furlong, winning by one length from the favourite, with Gan Amhras 3⁄4 of a length behind in third.[4] Michael Kinane, winning his fourth 2000 Guineas, later commented: "He's a classy horse and we've waited for him all winter. He's been crying out for this ground."

Despite doubts about his stamina and a strong field, notably from Ballydoyle, who fielded six of the twelve runners, Sea The Stars won the 2009 Epsom Derby, beating the favourite, Fame And Glory, and Masterofthehorse (making it a 1-2-3 to Ireland). Racing prominently behind the pacemakers, Sea The Stars traveled very well and slowly reeled in the leader from three furlongs out, taking the lead with 1+1⁄2 furlongs to go and keeping the lead all the way to the finish. Mick Kinane (winning his third Derby two weeks shy of his 50th birthday) said of the winner, "I was going so easy all the way, it was as if we were going in slow motion."[5]

Sea the Stars was scratched from the 2009 Irish Derby due to the track conditions,[6] but won the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park a week later. Always travelling well, he overtook the fading pacemakers early down the straight, forcing Kinane to commit earlier than expected. Rip Van Winkle came with a strong challenge two furlongs out, but Sea The Stars fought him off with a surge of acceleration, winning readily by one and a half lengths, with 2008 Breeders' Cup Turf winner Conduit five lengths behind in third.[7]

Sea The Stars at York

In August 2009, Sea the Stars won the Juddmonte International Stakes at York. Scaring off most of the opposition, he faced only four other horses were left in the race, three of them from Ballydoyle. Mastercraftsman, winner of four Group I races including the Irish 2000 Guineas and the St. James's Palace Stakes at Ascot, was the main opposition, with the two others acting as pacemakers. Tracking Mastercraftsman throughout the race, Kinane followed Johnny Murtagh through a narrowing gap created by the two pacemakers at the beginning of the straight. Sea The Stars powered past Mastercraftsman in the last furlong, taking the Group I race by a length and breaking the track record by 0.8 seconds.[8]

Next was the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown in September 2009. It was Sea The Stars' first appearance in front of his home crowd since 2008, and the race was billed as a clash between him and Fame and Glory, who since finishing second in The Derby had won the Irish Derby by five lengths and been rested for two months. The race was highly anticipated, as the rematch during the Irish Derby was postponed due to ground conditions. Turning into the straight, Johnny Murtagh on board Fame and Glory took the initiative and got first run on Sea The Stars. A patient Kinane stayed on Murtagh's heels and with a powerful burst of speed went easily past Fame and Glory two furlongs out to win by two and a half lengths. Mastercraftsman finished third, another two and a half lengths behind Fame and Glory. After his win in the Irish Champion Stakes, Sea The Stars was awarded a 140 Timeform Rating.[9]

On 4 October 2009, six months since his win in the 2000 Guineas, Sea The Stars lined up as the odds-on favourite for Europe's most prestigious 3-year-old and up race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in France. A large field of nineteen runners along with a long and difficult season were major concerns, with some thinking this was one race too many. The race featured nine other Group I winners, including unbeaten French filly Stacelita; Yorkshire Oaks and Pretty Polly Stakes winner Dar Re Mi; Irish Derby winner Fame and Glory; 2008 St Leger Stakes, 2008 Breeders' Cup Turf and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Conduit; Prince of Wales's Stakes winner Vision d'Etat; Grand Prix de Paris and Prix Niel winner Cavalryman; and two-time Arc runner-up Youmzain. Quickly out of the stalls, Sea The Stars pulled very hard for the first two furlongs, was bumped and dropped back down the field. Kinane settled him and raced on in eighth and ninth position throughout the race. Turning into the straight, Sea The Stars stayed on the rail and seemed boxed in and in trouble. As the principals started to pick up, Kinane found a gap and challenged Stacelita alongside Dar Re Mi. Sea The Stars then produced a decisive turn of foot and went clear in a matter of strides. After going three lengths clear half a furlong out, he was eased down, winning by two lengths. He thus became the only horse to have won the 2000 Guineas, Epsom Derby, and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in the same year.[10]

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