INVESTEC DERBY
Venue: Epsom Date: 6 June Time: 1545 BST
Raceday coverage: Live on BBC One and BBC Sport website from 1315 to 1620, and on BBC Radio 5 Live; Highlights 0035 BBC One.
Preview programme (Friday): 1930-2000, BBC Two and BBC Sport website.  Mick Kinane and Sea The Stars celebrate 2000 Guineas victory |
Not long ago, there were fears that Sea The Stars might not have enough speed to win the mile-long 2000 Guineas. The Investec Derby over a half-mile further, claimed the sages back in April, might be "his race". Then the Irish-trained colt and his big race jockey Mick Kinane ran away with the Newmarket prize, and talk turned to his stamina, or possible lack of it. There was a chance, considered those self-same sages, that trainer John Oxx's horse had such natural speed that his reserves might be over-stretched at Epsom. No doubt veteran Kinane, just a photo-finish distance short of his 50th birthday, smiles at the kind of chatter that he's heard so many times before. Because as Sea The Stars attempts to become the first horse since Nashwan (1989) to complete the 2000 Guineas/Derby double, he will be the jockey's 21st mount in the premier Classic. Over the years, the Irishman has netted two victories, on Commander In Chief (1993) and Galileo - one of Sea The Stars' older half-brothers- in 2001. Additionally, a glittering haul of prizes gained across the globe over 30-odd years, has made Kinane a Flat racing giant, and one whose opinion in a race like this is invaluable. "You can beat a lot of things, but you can't beat breeding," said the 13-times champion jockey of Ireland, who also bred 2007 Derby winner Authorized. "He's a half-brother to not only the best Derby winner I've ridden [Galileo] but the best Derby winner for a very long time. "His sire [Cape Cross] predominantly produces quicker horses, but he also sired Ouija Board, who won the Oaks, and that should be a nice influence on what is a stamina-laden pedigree." Having considered all the warm-up races for Epsom, he added: "The [2000] Guineas is looking the best trial". Kinane joined Sea The Stars' trainer John Oxx having worked for the two other most powerful stables in Ireland, those of Dermot Weld and then Aidan O'Brien, for whom he partnered Galileo. O'Brien will have up to six runners this year alone - including 2000 Guineas fourth Rip Van Winkle- but Oxx has only ever had two contenders in the race, a third and Sinndar, winner of the Millennium running.  | 606: DEBATE |
More reticent than his jockey, the trainer is saying that Sea The Stars has a "50-50 chance" of lasting out the testing mile-and-a-half long course, though he's clearly delighted to have Kinane on board. "Mick's a great man in these situations," he said, "and his instincts are very good. "You employ jockeys for their instincts, and good jockeys have good instincts about horses and what they should do. "He has a great feel for the race and a great feel for the track, and it's a great comfort to have somebody like Mick on the horse." Sea The Stars, owned by his breeders, the Hong Kong-based Tsui family, has won three of his four races, most notably and most recently Newmarket's 2000 Guineas. They say that great horses have that 'certain look', and Sea The Stars seems to have that characteristic, in spades. Oxx added: "He knows he's king of the castle, and he dominates my yard. He's the outstanding looker in the place. "He's got a fresh personality and needs plenty of work [on the gallops], and he eats and sleeps and works. He's a pleasure to train, just a pleasure to look at every day." So he ticks that box okay; it's just this stamina issue. But I'm with Mick Kinane, and am fairly certain there's nothing to worry about.
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