Sea the Stars Horse of the Year?

Going been changed to soft at the curragh,not looking good for sea the stars camp

Pity looked an easy pick up for the Star

Oxx rules Sea The Stars out of Irish Derby bid


SEA THE STARS will miss the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh on Sunday and will run instead in the Coral-Eclipse Stakes on Saturday.

Ruling his Investec Derby winner out of Sunday's Classic, trainer John Oxx said on Saturday morning: "There is no point in delaying the decision any longer. Sea The Stars will not run in the Irish Derby because of the change in the ground caused by rain on Thursday night-Friday morning and again on Friday evening.


"It is warm and fine today, but the ground went soft last night and there is no way we will havethe good, fast ground he likes on Sunday. When soft ground starts to dry out, it gets sticky."



Oxx added: "The Eclipse is now the plan and we will confirm his entry for that race on Monday.

"We would have liked to run him at the Curragh had the ground been good or faster. We would have liked to put the argument about him not getting a strongly run mile and a half to bed. It would have been good, too, for our own information purposes, with the rest of the season in mind. But we are going a different path now."

The sponsors make the Derby winner their 5-4 favourite for next weekend’s Coral-Eclipse. Conduit is the 11-4 second favourite for the Sandown showpiece, ahead of Rip Van Winkle at 9-2.

With Sea The Stars an absentee, Mick Kinane will now switch to Mourayan, trained by Oxx for the Aga Khan, in Sunday's Curragh Classic.

Paddy Power have said that they will refund all ante-post bets placed on Sea The Stars.

Coral-Eclipse betting:

Coral: 5-4 Sea The Stars, 11-4 Conduit, 9-2 Rip Van Winkle, 8 Cima de Triomphe, 14 Archipenko, 16 Twice Over, 20 Virtual, 33 Campanologist

Sea The Stars heads 14 Coral-Eclipse forfeits


The Stanjames.com 2,000 Guineas and Investec Derby winner was taken out of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby on Sunday owing to unsuitably testing ground.

Coral make Sea The Stars their 11-10 favourite, although his participation hinges on the ground, as there is rain forecast in the Sandown area later in the week.

Among his possible rivals on Saturday include Cima De Triopmhe and Conduit, who finished first and second respectively over course and distance in the Blue Square Brigadier Gerard Stakes inMay.

Aidan O'Brien, successful with Fame And Glory in the Irish Derby at the Curragh on Sunday, has left four in the race, headed by Derby fourth Rip Van Winkle. Malibu Bay, Set Sail and Westphalia complete the trainer's team.

Other notable entries include Summer Mile Stakes winner Archipenko and the Henry Cecil-trained Twice Over.

As revealed in Monday's Racing Post, Crowded House does not feature among the five-day entries.

Archipenko's camp are under no illusion about the task their horse faces.

The widely travelled five-year-old did not get the clearest of passages on his latest outing, when trying to retain his QEII Cup title in Hong Kong during April. He finished a close sixth behind Presvis.

Juan Nel, who is overseeing the Newmarket arm of the South African trainer's operation, said: "He's doing well and his preparation so far has been as much as we could ask of him.

"He's ready to take his chance but it's quite a strong field with the likes of Conduit and Sea The Stars - it's probably his toughest challenge to date."

Nel expects Kevin Shea to be on board at the weekend.

Triple Crown bid ruled out for Sea The Stars


THE FAINT hope that Derby and 2,000 Guineas winner Sea The Stars would bid to become the first horse since Nijinsky 39 years ago to challenge for the Triple Crown was extinguished on Monday, when trainer John Oxx told the Racing Post he would not even enter the superstar performer in the Ladbrokes St Leger.


Sea The Stars, who won the Stanjames.com 2,000 Guineas before his Epsom masterclass in the Investec Derby, will be removed from bookmakers' St Leger markets this week on publication of entries, which close on Tuesday.



Oxx said: "We discussed the possibility of a Doncaster St Leger entry, but decided against it. Sea The Stars will continue to race over a mile and quarter or a mile and a half for the rest of the season, starting with the Coral-Eclipse Stakes on Saturday."

Sea The Stars' diversion from Sunday's Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby to his first clash with older horses has set him back on the same path taken in 1989 by Nashwan, the last horse before him to win the 2,000 Guineas and Derby.

Nashwan followed up his Classic wins by landing the Eclipse before stepping back up to 1m4f for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Oxx had plannedto run Sea The Stars at the Curragh on Sunday, but withdrew the horse when a combination of watering and rain softened the ground.

The ground at Sandown was good on Monday after 11mm of rain on Saturday night but, with a hot and humidweek forecast, conditions are expected to quicken up appreciably.

"The ground is now good, good to firm in places, after a dry, hot day, which is set to continue tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday," said clerk of the course Andrew Cooper on Monday.

"Friday carries some degree of shower risk. Saturday is supposed to be dry. The way the ground has dried in the last 24 hours, we will recommence light watering tomorrow with the aim to produce good to firm ground."

Fortune 'very grateful' for ride on Winkle in Eclipse


JIMMY FORTUNE has finished no better than fourth in eight rides for Aidan O'Brien but on Wednesday was "very grateful" at being entrusted with the ride on Rip Van Winkle in Saturday's Coral-Eclipse at Sandown.



With Rip Van Winkle challenging Conduit for second-favouritism behindSea The Stars in the Eclipse, at around 7-2, Fortune, substituting for the suspended Johnny Murtagh, perhaps has his best chance yet of riding O'Brien a winner.

Two of his previous rides for Ballydoyle, Yeats (3-1) in the 2005 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, and Beethoven (4-1) in last month's Chesham Stakes, were similar prices and the six others were outsiders.

"I'm very grateful to have been given the ride," said Fortune on Tuesday, "and delighted to be on one of the leading fancies in such a high-profile race.

"It's quite obvious that Johnny likes the horse a lot because he rode him in the Derby even when there was a doubt about his stamina, so the horse must have been showing a hell of a lot at home.

"He probably didn't stay at Epsom when fourth, so a step back to a mile and a quarter should be in his favour."

Sea The Stars all set for Saturday's Coral-Eclipse


SEA THE STARS is all set to take on Rip Van Winkle and older rivals in the Coral-Eclipse Stakes on Saturday with trainer John Oxx reporting that all has gone well with the dual Classic winner over the past few days.

Oxx's star colt missed the Irish Derby on Sunday due to the ground at the Curragh being slower than ideal for him and the trainer said on Wednesday: "Everything is fine with the horse and he continues to be in good form. He did his normal bit of work on Tuesday and I'm happy with him.


"They tell me there is a 40 per cent chance of some rain in the Sandown area on Friday, but I gather it is unlikely to be any great threat to the ground conditions."



As for plans beyond Saturday's contest, Oxx is yet to decide on any firm targets for the son of Cape Cross.

"We are not looking beyond the Eclipse just yet," he said. "We were going to review plans after the Irish Derby but as he didn't run at the Curragh, we will wait until after the weekend to look any further ahead."

Timeform feel Sea The Stars will have a battle on his hooves in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown.

The unbeaten 2000 Guineas and Derby winner is set to start an odds-on favourite at the weekend and is now rated one pound clear of Conduit by the Halifax-based form.

Spokesman Kieran Packman explained: "Having had the opportunity to digest the Irish Derby result from last weekend, our view is that enough substance was given to Sea The Stars' Epsom victory by Fame And Glory's success to see John Oxx's three-year-old top-rated for Saturday's Eclipse.

"We certainly feel Sea The Stars has it in him to establish himself as the best across the age groups now, he's undoubtedly top-class for all he's yet to be pushed into showing it despite completing a Classic double.

"Conduit sets a stiff standard amongst the older horses, indeed a repeat of his Breeders' Cup performance would have been good enough to win the last five renewals of this race. It remains to be seen, though, whether he can replicate that level of form over ten furlongs

Bookies view Sea The Stars as Eclipse certainty

DERBY hero Sea The Stars hardened at the head of the market for the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown with the sponsors making him a 4-6 chance on Thursday.


So certain are the bookmakers that the dual Classic winner's first attempt at 1m2f will prove successful that Sky Bet have opened a market on how far he will win by.

Sky Bet make up to and including one length their 4-1 favourite, over one length and up to and including two lengths is 9-2, over three lengths is 5-1, while over two lengths and up to and including three lengths is 11-2.

The firm have also issued a ‘without' market, and have installed Conduit as the 7-4 favourite, with Rip Van Winkle next at 15-8.

Having seen sustained support for Sea The Stars all week, the sponsors are forecasting he could go off 1-2 or shorter in his attempt to become the first Derby winner since Nashwan in 1989 to win the Coral-Eclipse.

Coral director of trading and PR Simon Clare said: "We initially offered 5-4 at the start of the week but he has been backed at all rates down to 4-6, and the weight of public support on Saturday, both at thetrack and in the shops, could well see him start 1-2 or even shorter."

A total of ten are set to go to post for the Group 1 contest after a late setback ruled out South African raider Archipenko, who had been as short as 12-1 for the race. Tazeez, Monitor Closely and Westphalia were also withdrawn at the final declaration stage.

I was shocked to hear the tellytrack presenter mumble through the betting for the Eclipse and say the "fav" has won last 3 races and is a 3 year old?
He had no idea that he is talking about "SEA THE STARS", the 2000gns and Derby winner, it was a poor show of racing knowledge imvho

Places on conduit better value.

982 FOR THOSE WITH TELLYTRACK.