Tag Archive for: Hall of Fame

So many great memories for John Oxx with Sea The Stars

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John Oxx has gained as much pleasure from the second career of Sea The Stars as he did from his days on the track.

Known as the quiet man of the training ranks before his retirement – every inch a gentleman – Oxx would never be one to shout his achievements from the rooftops.

But what he was able to achieve with Sea The Stars – six Group Ones in six months – will forever ensure Oxx’s name is up there with the legends of the Turf and his greatest horse has now been inducted into the Qipco British Champions Series Hall of Fame.

That Sea The Stars has produced his own champions like Harzand, Stradivarius and more recently Baaeed has given the softly-spoken Oxx a continued interest in the game.

“There was always going to be a second career for a horse like that and it’s a relief to see it going so well. We’ve all seen great horses go off to stud and not be so successful,” said Oxx.

Sea The Stars was impressive in the 2000 Guineas
Sea The Stars was impressive in the 2000 Guineas (Chris Radburn/PA)

“In his case he was such a brilliant horse, had such a good pedigree allied with a brilliant temperament – all the qualities that would have made it a surprise if he wasn’t a success at stud. But it’s still nice to see it happen.

“Every year he’s had good horses, but with Baaeed last year – to get one at that type of level and that rating, that’s difficult for those great horses to do.”

Asked if he felt under pressure at the time to be sent a half-brother to Galileo, Oxx said: “We were excited to be sent such a nice horse with his pedigree and looks, you already think you’ve half a chance. I didn’t feel pressure, the owner didn’t put any on us.

“The pressure built later on as he started some fast work and started to show his ability – then it built and built all the time then!

“With each race and new horizon conquered, along with it came a lot of pressure and a lot of responsibility, just making sure he was all right and ready to run.”

Sea The Stars was only beaten once in his career, on debut, which at least meant Oxx did not have the extra stress of maintaining a perfect winning streak.

“I don’t know about the pressure of keeping an unbeaten record intact, you always need to be prepared for a horse to lose a race, it doesn’t always tarnish their record. I always felt first time out it was nice to give them a race where they learned something,” said Oxx.

Sea The Stars followed up his Guineas win in the Derby
Sea The Stars followed up his Guineas win in the Derby (Daniel Hambury/PA)

Having won the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket first time out at three, with Oxx eschewing a trial, only one race was then on his mind.

“Once he won the Guineas, the dream then was always to win the Derby, it was certainly mine as it is the Holy Grail in my book – to have a Guineas winner and then four weeks later win the Derby over 50 per cent further on a totally different track,” he said.

“Everything else afterwards could look after itself. We wanted him to be a Guineas-Derby winner, but then of course once you’ve won a Guineas you start to wonder will he stay in the Derby!

“He was an aggressive racer, but he was in the perfect position at Epsom and the first thing Mick (Kinane) said to me on coming back was ‘well Plan A worked anyway’.”

Having already won the Guineas and the Derby, Sea The Stars went on a Group One-winning spree which will ensure he will be remembered for decades to come.

“In the Eclipse, it was a record time after they went a ferocious pace. He followed the leaders, but the pacemakers collapsed two furlongs out and he was in front too soon, he always pulled up a bit in front as he thought he’d won,” remembers Oxx.

“A furlong out he thought he’d already won and Rip Van Winkle was a very good horse. He put it up to him, but in the end he pulled away and won nicely. Jimmy Fortune, who rode Rip Van Winkle, told me later ‘your fella was only playing with me’.

“You always worry in a horse race as anything can happen and at York in the International we had three of Aidan’s (O’Brien) to beat and that was it. Two pacemakers and Mastercraftsman and the front two made a gap for Mastercraftsman which Mick also went through.

“However, he then took a pull and he just went to sleep for a little bit and he had to say ‘go’ twice to him. He was a little bit sluggish getting back up, but in the end he won easy enough again – and that was a record time. Aidan told me afterwards that was the best he’d ever had Mastercraftsman that day.

“When Mick got off him at York it had been six weeks since the Eclipse and he said he needed that run, it would bring him on. Sure enough at Leopardstown in the Irish Champion Stakes he then put up what the handicappers said was his best ever performance.

“That was nice for the Irish crowd to see him. It was just about the only race he won by a decent margin as we could never get him to win by far! Because there was a doubt about him running the crowd might not have been what it may have been, but they certainly gave him some reception.”

As ever with a champion horse in Europe, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe was on the horizon. But it did not all go according to plan.

“The big thing in the Arc was when he looked in that bit of bother. I didn’t mind him being back in the field because the main horses to beat weren’t that far in front of him,” said Oxx.

“It was Getaway who was in front of him and he was going for the gap that we needed to get. Mick had to accelerate to get around him, which he did. Stephane Pasquier was on Getaway and later told me he couldn’t believe a horse could do that, but when he got to the gap I was able to breathe a sigh of relief.”

Oxx believes the fact Sea The Stars was able to win the 2000 Guineas at the start of his magical season, despite an interrupted preparation, is the perfect advertisement of his greatness.

He added: “The only hold-up we had all year was back on March 17 when he had a temperature of 103, which was a huge disappointment at the time.

“Because of his constitution he was back and did a bit of fast work two weeks later. Other horses couldn’t have done that. The fact he could win the Guineas the first Saturday in May is very unusual after a temperature like that. That shows you a lot about him.

“We knew he was one of the greats after he won the Guineas and the Derby, so we had to run him in all those races. He missed the King George, but he had to have a little pause and that was the only one he missed. He had to win a sequence to prove himself as one of the greats. It’s a rarity and thank goodness it happened, there won’t be many in 100 years that do it.”

‘One in a million’ – Sea The Stars means so much to Tsui family

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To own a champion racehorse must be the thing of dreams. When said racehorse is a son of your own champion mare it must mean so much more.

That is what happened to Christopher Tsui, a prominent figure in the brilliant career of Sea The Stars, the latest equine inductee into the Qipco British Champions Series Hall of Fame.

What the John Oxx-trained Sea The Stars achieved in his three-year-old season in 2009, winning six Group Ones in six months, in three different countries over distances ranging from eight to 12 furlongs, has rightly gone down in racing folklore.

But given his family also owned the remarkable Urban Sea, herself a Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner and the dam of the great Galileo, Sea The Stars did have every chance of reaching the very top.

“We were always very hopeful, he was a half-brother to Galileo and we’d already had a lot of success with the family of Urban Sea. Most of his siblings were stakes winners so we were very hopeful he would do well on the racecourse,” said Tsui.

“Obviously you never know quite how good they might be until the day they start racing. I remember his first race very well, when he was fourth. I was a little disappointed, but John did tell us his first time out two-year-olds often ran like that.

“When he won his maiden next time John told us he thought he was good, but as people know, John is always very careful and he would never jump to conclusions before he started seeing results.

“I do think between him and Mick Kinane they knew quite early on he was something special.

“John didn’t push him at two, he did run him in the Group Two Beresford Stakes which he won, but it was a nice, easy start for him I guess – not too intense but building up nicely.”

Having decided not to keep a champion like Galileo, Tsui said it was almost inevitable they would keep his half-brother, especially with Urban Sea advancing in years.

Sea The Stars with John Oxx
Sea The Stars with John Oxx (Niall Carson/PA)

“I think we always wanted to keep hold of him when he was born as by that point Urban Sea was getting older and we thought by 2006 when she had Sea The Stars she was 17 so we were keen to keep some of the progeny, we kept his little brother Born To Sea, too,” said Tsui.

“I couldn’t think of another mare like Urban Sea. Not only did she produce Galileo and Sea The Stars but Born To Sea was second in an Irish Derby, All Too Beautiful was second in the Oaks, Black Sam Bellamy won two Group Ones – her consistency was incredible. Don’t forget she won the Arc herself.”

Not only was Sea The Stars a champion on the track, he has gone on to enjoy an incredible second career at stud too, producing a Derby winner in Harzand, an Oaks heroine in Taghrooda and more recently Baaeed, rated in the realms of his sire.

“I think given her genes there was a good chance he was going to be a success at stud, but we’re also very fortunate to link up with the Aga Khan, having access to such wonderful mares throughout the years. It all contributes to the success,” said Tsui.

Horse Racing – Christopher Tsui leads in Sea The Stars after winning the Derby
Christopher Tsui leads in Sea The Stars after winning the Derby (Steve Pasrsons/

“The range of horses he has produced, from Baaeed to Stradivarius, shows just how versatile he really was. John told us he could have won races over seven furlongs had we wanted to, but we didn’t. John always said the distance didn’t matter, he could have gone for the Leger if we wanted, it was more a question of picking the right schedule.

“What he did was very rare, six Group Ones in six months, in different countries as well so you have to factor in all the travelling, it was incredible. I don’t know if it will ever be replicated. It was a hell of a season, for sure.

“It was quite nerve-wracking watching him. In the Guineas we didn’t know how good he was, his first race was just excitement. We had some expectations, but when he won it was quite a surprise.

“As the races built up, he won the Derby and the Eclipse, the expectations went up with every race and he was always in the media. By the time of the Arc all I could think was ‘just finish the race and get it done’. It was a relief, more than anything, when he won the Arc.”

As so often the Arc attracted a big field, and Kinane found himself in an uncompromising position. It was a testament to horse and jockey he was still able to win.

“The Arc is always a messy race with a big field so anything can happen. He was a long way back and had a lot of traffic in front of him. He started weaving around and it was difficult to watch, but once he got in the clear he was gone, it was a tremendous race – I must have watched it 1,000 times since and I’m still amazed how he got out!” exclaimed Tsui.

“The Arc was an amazing race, it always is, all the best horses in Europe congregate there. It has to be my favourite as I was also there when Urban Sea won it, I would have only been 10 or 11, so to be there 16 years later in that situation was very special.

“I think the Irish Champion Stakes was a race where he never looked in trouble, he was always relaxed and in control and when Mick let him go, he was just that much better, it was a much easier race to watch than most – especially the International at York.

“That was a four-runner race, three from Aidan O’Brien, and he still ended up squeezing through a gap, that was a bit more difficult to watch but he still won, and he broke the track record.”

Having achieved so much at three, Tsui said there was little temptation to continue with him at four, knowing in racing nothing can last forever.

“It was a hard decision to retire him as he became so popular. It wasn’t a decision like any I’d made before. People wanted him to go to the Breeders’ Cup, some wanted him to stay in training but ultimately we spoke to John and he said his coat was coming through,” said Tsui.

“We spoke about it, but ultimately made the decision to retire him. So much can go wrong with a racehorse, especially at that time of year when all the races are abroad. Taking horses on an aeroplane is always risky and everything had gone so smoothly we didn’t want to push our luck.

“Obviously Sea The Stars was one in a million. We hope to find another, but it will be very difficult. We do have some nice horses in the pipeline so hopefully we have some good winners this year.”

Sir Michael Stoute and Sea The Stars latest to join Hall of Fame

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Sir Michael Stoute and Sea The Stars are the two most recent inductees into the Qipco British Champions Series Hall of Fame.

A presentation at the Qipco Guineas Festival at Newmarket on Saturday will mark the occasion after both were chosen by an independent panel of industry experts.

Stoute, 77, becomes the first active trainer to be inducted and is just the third overall as he joins Vincent O’Brien and Sir Henry Cecil in receiving the honour.

Also a 10-times champion Flat trainer, Stoute has saddled more than 4,000 winners in Britain since 1972 and has enjoyed six Derby victories – including the mighty Shergar, who won by a record 10 lengths in 1981, and Workforce in 2010, who still holds the record time.

Desert Crown winning the Derby
Desert Crown winning the Derby (Tim Goode/PA)

Stoute’s most recent Derby success came just last season, as Desert Crown claimed Epsom glory in the hands of Richard Kingscote.

Stoute has also accumulated a record 82 winners at Royal Ascot, including Estimate’s unforgettable Gold Cup triumph for the late Queen in 2013, and no one has trained more winners of prestigious prizes such as the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes (six), Juddmonte International (six), Eclipse (six), Lockinge (eight), Falmouth Stakes (six) and Yorkshire Oaks (nine).

“I am very flattered and most grateful to have been inducted into the Qipco British Champions Series Hall of Fame. Of course, it has only been made possible by good horses, talented and dedicated staff, and loyal owners,” said the Freemason Lodge handler.

“To be inducted into the Hall of Fame and joining Vincent O’Brien, who was my hero and probably the greatest trainer that has ever lived, and Henry Cecil, who was also a very good friend. I’m very, very grateful.

“You never forget your first Derby winner. Shergar had won his Derby trials in outstanding fashion. So he was odds on, he was expected to win, we expected him to win, but it was still a great thrill. I think he won by about ten lengths and (Walter) Swinburn was pulling him up by the last furlong.”

Mick Kinane with the incomparable Sea The Stars at Epsom
Mick Kinane with the incomparable Sea The Stars at Epsom (Daniel Hambury/PA)

Sea The Stars was a superb racehorse whose only loss came on his first ever start, after which he was trained by John Oxx to eight successes that gained him nearly £4.5million in prize-money.

As a three-year-old he dominated the sport with a remarkable run of six consecutive Group One races, all of which he won.

He secured back-to-back Classic wins in the 2000 Guineas and the Derby, after which he claimed the Eclipse, the Juddmonte International, the Irish Champion Stakes and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

His second career at stud has been equally successful, with the now 17-year-old having sired a whole host of top-class performers including Baaeed, Stradivarius, Crystal Ocean and Harzand.

Mick Kinane, who was ever present in the saddle during Sea The Stars’ racing career, said: “The first time I rode him, he was the first horse I sat on that morning. I turned him in and did a half speed back, I popped off him and said ‘This fella finds going quick very easy, he’s a beauty’. That’s exactly what I said, the first time I sat on him.”