Sea The Stars became the first Classic winner of the new Flat season, taking the Stan James 2000 Guineas at Newmarket impressively.
Trained in Ireland by John Oxx and ridden by veteran jockey Mick Kinane, the handsome bay Sea The Stars finished 11/2 lengths ahead of Brian Meehan’s Delegator, the 3-1 favourite. Third was Gan Amhras, trained by Jim Bolger, and Aidan O’Brien’s Rip Van Winkle was fourth.
Owned and bred by the Tsui family, Sea The Stars, who started at 8-1 for the mile Classic, is by Cape Cross out of the superb mare Urban Sea, who won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe before producing 10 foals, eight of which have won black-type races. They include champion sire and Derby winner Galileo. Sadly, she died earlier this year giving birth to an Invincible Spirit foal at the Irish National Stud.
John Oxx, for whom this was only a second Newmarket Guineas runner in a distinguished 30-year career, said: “He’s travelled wonderfully well throughout the race. You could see from a long way out that he was going to make it count.
“He quickened well into the Dip for a relatively inexperienced horse — the rising ground suited him and he really got home well.”
It was Mick Kinane’s fourth 2000 Guineas winner, after Tirol in 1990, Entrepeneur in 1997, and King Of Kings in 1998.
Sea The Stars’ next race will be the Derby next month, for which he was quickly made favourite.
Don’t miss H&H’s full report on the Guineas meeting, on sale next Thursday
