Sea The Stars to stand at Aga Khan's Gilltown Stud View

[fordman 1]

Aga Khan Studs

The Aga Khan Studs report that the Tsui family ended weeks of speculation on Tuesday when they announced that they are going to stand their great Champion, Sea The Stars, at HH The Aga Khan

[WOODBINE 88]

This is a pleasing placement for this outstanding stallion prospect. It is good to see that he will not be a breeding commodity thrown into the Coolmore or Darley systems.

[nod 1]

Aga Khan Studs

Possibly the greatest racehorse of all time Sea The Stars

[Hunterville 0]

'Possibly the greatest racehorse of all time'... what a joke! It has one good season where is beats everything, and fair enough it is a champion racehorse but to make a statement like that is ridiculous. I disliked the Aga Kahn after her retired Zarkava so early... now his stud is making up this rubbish.

[Properispomenon 1]

Right on, Hunterville...

Sea The Stars is good - but greatness only comes if you can succeed over more than one season.

Timeform recognise that - which is why STS was rated below horses that raced at 4 as well as 3 like Sea Bird, Brigadier Gerard, Mill Reef etc...

Interesting, too, to see three Australian champions on their all-time best list. Even if, as an example, their assessments seem a little awry given that they rate Sunline at 129 - 'an average Group I winner'...

Let Timeform word it themselves (and that comment about Secretariat was the first time I have ever seen it):

Timeform ratings for 3-year-olds & up are as follows:

140 - An outstanding horse

130-135 - Above average Group 1 winner

125-129 - Average Group 1 winner

115-120 - Average Group 2 winner

110-115 - Average Group 3 winner

100-105 - Average listed race winner

Top-rated Thoroughbreds on Flat Courses

The figures below are official All-Time Highweights for horses who raced in Australasia, Dubai, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, and Scandinavia as supplied by Mr. Neil O'Connor of Timeform.

Many notable post-war horses who raced in America were never given Timeform ratings so can not be compared directly to their European counterparts. The most notable of these would be Secretariat.

When Timeform undertook an unofficial review of his performances, the conclusion was that he would be rated somewhere above 150. His "Unofficial" Beyer Speed Figure of 139 backs up this judgement.

Horse Born Rating

Sea Bird 1962 145

Brigadier Gerard 1968 144

Tudor Minstrel 1944 144

Abernant 1946 142

Ribot 1952 142

Windy City 1949 142

Mill Reef 1968 141

Dancing Brave 1983 140

Dubai Millennium 1996 140

Sea The Stars 2006 140

Shergar 1978 140

Vaguely Noble 1965 140

Generous 1988 139

Pappa Fourway 1952 139

Peintre Celebre 1994 139

Reference Point 1984 139

Alleged 1974 138

Alycidon 1945 138

Celtic Swing 1992 138

Cigar 1990 138

Daylami 1994 138

Exbury 1959 138

Nijinsky 1967 138

Star of India 1953 138

Tulloch 1954 138

Easy Goer 1986 137

Sunday Silence 1986 137

Apalachee 1971 137

Dayjur 1987 137

Ghostzapper 2000 137

Grundy 1972 137

Kingston Town 1976 137

Mark of Esteem 1993 137

Molvedo 1958 137

Montjeu 1996 137

Moorestyle 1977 137

Never Say Die 1951 137

Pinza 1950 137

Princely Gift 1951 137

Ragusa 1960 137

Rheingold 1969 137

Reliance 1962 137

Right Boy 1954 137

Troy 1976 137

Zilzal 1986 137

Alcide 1955 136

Allez France 1970 136

Ballymoss 1954 136

Bering 1983 136

Black Tarquin 1945 136

Bustino 1971 136

Crepello 1954 136

El Condor Pasa 1995 136

El Gran Senor 1981 136

Floribunda 1958 136

Gentlemen 1992 136

Habibti 1980 136

Hafiz 1952 136

Hawk Wing 1999 136

Helissio 1993 136

Herbager 1956 136

My Babu 1945 136

Manikato 1975 136

Northjet 1977 136

Old Vic 1986 136

Relko 1960 136

Slip Anchor 1982 136

Suave Dancer 1988 136

Sakhee 1997 136

Tantieme 1947 136

Texana 1955 136

Thatch 1970 136

Warning 1985 136

All Along 1979 135

Arazi 1989 135

Arbar 1944 135

Arctic Prince 1948 135

Chanteur 1942 135

Charlottesville 1957 135

Coronation 1946 135

Dahlia 1970 135

Intikhab 1994 135

Known Fact 1977 135

Kris 1976 135

La Tendresse 1959 135

Le Moss 1975 135

Match II 1958 135

Nashwan 1986 135

Never So Bold 1980 135

Pebbles 1981 135

Petingo 1965 135

Petoski 1982 135

Right Royal 1958 135

Royal Anthem 1995 135

Sagace 1980 135

Sassafras 1967 135

Shadeed 1982 135

Shahrastani 1983 135

Shareef Dancer 1980 135

Sicambre 1948 135

Sir Ivor 1965 135

Souverain 1943 135

St Jovite 1989 135

Supreme Court 1948 135

Teenoso 1980 135

Tenerani 1944 135

The Bug 1943 135

The Minstrel 1974 135

Trempolino 1984 135

Youth 1973 135

[Hunterville 0]

I don't think you can really take Timeform seriously given the preference they have for Northern Hemisphere horses. Sunline deserves a far better rating I think we agree, and as the saying goes, 'champions should be admired not compared', it rings true here. So how one can say that one particular horse is 'possibly the greatest of all time' beats me!

[Henri Jooste 40]

The superlatives flow and the hype goes into overdrive. Sea The Stars is undoubtedly one of the all time greats. He comprehensively beat older horses so in reality had nothing further to prove. I would rather see his legacy at stud than wonder what might have been had the unthinkable happened. Mill Reef almost never made it through a third season of racing, his loss would have been disastrous for the industry.

One has to laugh at the phrase "regally bred". His dam most certainly can be classed as regal, his sire Cape Cross is a capable sire but no champion in that role. The mere fact that there are precious few sons of Cape Cross at stud anywhere in the world would tend to support this view.

It is good to see that Sea The Stars will be under the control of the Aga Khan Stud and not the purely commercial outfits.

[Juno 0]

I would agree that Sea The Stars was an above-average horse, regardless of how long he raced for. I would disagree that Cape Cross is not a champion sire - he's no Danehill or Sadler's Wells, but he's damn good. As for the dam of STS, what can you say; pure gold!

Speaking of Cape Cross, how was Oija Board rated compared to Sunline?

[Properispomenon 1]

I would agree that Sea The Stars was an above-average horse, regardless of how long he raced for. I would disagree that Cape Cross is not a champion sire - he's no Danehill or Sadler's Wells, but he's damn good. As for the dam of STS, what can you say]

125, Juno:

Race Record

At 2 years: (Annual Timeform Rating 98)

WON European Breeders' Fund Novice Stakes, Yarmouth, 7f

3rd EBF Montrose Fillies' Stakes, L, Newmarket ®, 8f

3rd Beech House Stud EBF Maiden Stakes, Newmarket ®, 7f

At 3 years: (Annual Timeform Rating 125)

WON Alberto VO5 Breeders' Cup Filly And Mare Turf-Gr1,

Lone Star Park, 11f

WON Vodafone Oaks-G1, Epsom, 12f

WON Darley Irish Oaks-G1, Curragh, 12f

WON R.L. Davison Pretty Polly Stakes, L, Newmarket ®, 10f

3rd Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Lucien Barriere-G1, Longchamp, 12f

At 4 years: (Annual Timeform Rating 121)

WON Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Vase-Gr1, Sha Tin, 12f

WON Princess Royal John Doyle Stakes-G3,

Ascot at Newmarket ®, 12f

2nd Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup Filly And Mare Turf-Gr1,

Belmont Park, 10f

5th Japan Cup-Gr1, Tokyo, 12f

At 5 years: (Annual Timeform Rating 125)

WON Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup Filly And Mare Turf-G1,

Churchill Downs, 11f

WON Prince of Wales's Stakes-Gr1, Royal Ascot, 10f

WON Vodafone Nassau Stakes-Gr1, Goodwood, 10f

2nd Baileys Irish Champion Stakes-Gr1, zzzpardstown, 10f

2nd Vodafone Coronation Cup-Gr1, Epsom, 12f

3rd Japan Cup-Gr1, Tokyo, 12f

3rd Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Stakes-Gr1, Sha Tin, 10f

4th Dubai Sheema Classic-Gr1, Nad Al Sheba, 12f

5th Coral Eclipse Stakes-Gr1, Sandown Park, 10f

[Timon 107]

An amazing time capsule if nothing else. You could argue about relativities - e.g. Generous above Nijinsky.

Derby form always seem to rank disproportionately, though having had the good fortune to watch Dancing Brave win the 2000 Guineas and Arc it is nice to see him rank higher than Shahrastani, his Derby conqueror.

A notable lack of recent 'stars' in the top order - is that a predudice against quality of today's champions or their opponents?