Sea The Stars – A Champion Horse

I missed this last week as I was out on my travels in Cornwall. Here is his Arc win on youtube…

Not sure this was as impressive as Zarkava last year but you can’t argue with his record…

Anyway, some more youtube clips of his career… first his win in the 2000 Guineas..in May

Then the Derby.. strange how Sea The Stars wasn’t the clear favourite…in June

Then onto the Coral Eclipse…in July

So to August, York and the Juddmonte International. Not as comfortable as it should have been

Next, September and the Irish Champion Stakes (a bit of a slow loader)

A Couple Of Other Queensland Memories…

Did I ever say how much I loved Jakatta’s album…. Dave Lee produced more under different guises (most notably Joey Negro) but I never got into it as much as this album. Easily in my top ten, I am trying hard to think of one I played to death more, and the above song got more than one airing.  All around Australia it was on my portable CD player (no Ipods then (or at least affordable ones, kiddywinks – what would you have done?)) at most opportunities.

I will also remember that Sasha’s “airdrawndagger” got several airings too…and that for a horrible couple of hours I thought that my GU009 Sasha in San Fran CD would be stuck in the CD player at Dreamcatcher because of a power failure.

Interested in Port Douglas… here is Dreamcatcher’s website… Very, very highly recommended.

A week or so earlier, in Brisbane, on our first day in Australia, we experienced how the country went for the Melbourne Cup. It is a national instituion and watching it on the TV in the middle of Brisbane’s main shopping street will also be one of my main memories. Especially as Queenie Grimble, dotty auntie to Sir Peter, predicted the winner and won the beknighted one a pretty penny…

The horse I backed – erm, finished 16th – see link here for Mick Kinane naffing it up.

2002 was just amazing… the memories are still so clear… and all triggered by one song on the 8:42 from Mottingham to Lewisham.

My Good Colleague ZS Knows…

…ZS once asked me for a tip in the 2000 Guineas. I saw a long-priced Arab sounding horse called Azamour, who was about 20-1.

All I said to ZS was John Oxx, its trainer, wouldn’t have sent a horse over to Newmarket to waste anyone’s time. It certainly shouldn’t have been that price, I don’t care what his form was.

It finished 3rd, and ZS had a nice amount each way. Azamour went on to win the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot and was a fine horse.

Today John Oxx sent over only his third derby entrant, and won his second after the great Sindaar. As I said, he don’t waste his time over here! Sea the Stars was certainly an impressive winner.

On a completely irrelevant note, but I came across it on my searches, here was undoubtedly the best race I’ve ever been at…

Giant’s Causeway was a legend, Sakhee won the Arc De Triomphe, Fantastic Light was a multi- Group 1 winner, Kalanisi won the Breeder’s Cup., Border Arrow was no-one’s fool….

Second World Stadia Photo….

More a racetrack, actually….

Garrison Savannah wasn’t just the name of a Gold Cup winner, but also a race track in Barbados just outside Bridgetown..

The Horse Racing Performance of the Year

I love Group 1 middle distance horse racing, and the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe is a highlight of the season for me. This year, however, I’ve not really kept up with the top flight stuff, for one reason or another. I saw the fag end of the Derby while at Trent Bridge, half the screen blocked out by a wall, behind a crowd, with no sound, so had no idea who had won. I missed much of the rest of the decent racing, but was determined to watch the Arc.

Duke of Marmalade wasn’t fancied that much, which surprised me, as I’d heard he’d won several big races this season for Aidan O’Brien, including beating Epsom Derby winner New Approach at the Juddmonte International at Newmarket. The favourite, though, was French sensation Zarkava, who had won the French Oaks and the Prix Vermeille before tackling this 1 and a half mile championship of Europe.

The result was a sensational win, as impressive as any since Peintre Celebre (Montjeu and Hurricane Run were also mightily impressive, but subsequent defeats rendered their records a little imperfect, compared to this filly, and the great French star of the mid 90s).

It seems sad that the horse won’t be travelling to the Breeders Cup, but this has been the racehorse memory of the year for me. Brilliance shines only fleetingly. Zarkava was brilliant.

Sunday Afternoon Blogging…

Sport Americana will be dealt with later, but some thoughts on other issues as they arise…

WindyBricks supposedly played well while I was away. They obviously had to wait until I returned before they turned in a bag of garbage against the students from Concrete Cow land. We scored 1, they scored 3. They won 4-0. The Belgian psychos own goal against the horse racing baseballers in the play-offs some years ago was recreated a la “phoenix from the flames” by Stefan Dennis’ most celebrated role. Don’t it make you feel good….. er no.

Jesus, this is so bloody awful, I just don’t know. Even worse than the own goal. I suppose I’ll have to live up to the title of this song for next week…

There were no redeeming features about that waste of an afternoon.

And then for some reasons I wanted to find the old track that the Houston Rockets were introduced to in their championship years…

Any Hakeem the Dream for our delectation…. there must be…

The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is this afternoon, so any excuse to bring up the best horses I’ve seen in the last 25 years…

Dancing Brave

Peintre Celebre (trust me, it is better in French than in Japanese)

Sinndar

Dalakhani

I haven’t a clue about this year’s as not been following the flat horses as much. The filly Zarkava is the favourite.

I have a couple of youtube links…