Scotia on Arc Weekend

Good morning all, the big race has arrived and all the speculation if Sea The Stars is one of the greatest can be put to bed.

I firmly believe that the champ will show them a clean pair of hooves and can only hope the Clan got on early?



In addition Goldikova also runs in France on Saturday and after this weekend we have the Breeders Cup to look forward to.

Saturday the 7th of November should also be a huge raceday at the big T, for our first day night race meeting, details to follow.



If you have ever been involved with a website, the worst thing that can happen is to go "off line" and this happened to us yesterday on the last day of Sept. however this could not prevent the site having yet another record breaking month



Since April we have gone from 4,935 visitors and 577,697 hits to 7534 visitors and 750,000 hits a growth rate of over 50% in just 5 months.
We have 1021 registered members (912 active and 622 posting) in addition we have rejected numerous requests to register due to false email addresses within the last month.

I would again like to thank the posters for the excellent contributions and the sponsors for their continued support.

Many "hot" topics on the Forum, please add your views.

Keeping with the growth and promise of a "one stop shop" for the punters, the tote links should be up and running today and remember the commission will go back to the ABC punters in the form of a competition.

Note! the link is on the home page


Good punting and may your God be with you

scotia

Hope seas the stars wins,wont be have a punt though(kiss of death and all that)

John Oxx is well aware staying is likely to be the name of the game when Sea The Stars bids to secure his place in racing legend with victory in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp on Sunday.

A truly epic campaign has seen him emulate Nashwan with success in the 2000 Guineas, Derby and Eclipse, while he has also added the Juddmonte International and Irish Champion.

Aidan O'Brien has tried - and failed - to lower his colours all year, but in Derby and Irish Champion runner-up Fame And Glory, the Ballydoyle team this weekend pose a serious threat back over a mile and a half.

Oxx said: "I think Fame And Glory is the biggest danger on the form and will stay the mile and half well. We think our fellow will stay the distance well, also, but he has only won over it once.

"But that will be what they are thinking - that Fame And Glory could be more of a danger to him over a mile and a half.

"Our fellow has too much speed for him over a mile and a quarter. I suppose they'll try and make it a fast pace again and test the stamina to the limit.

"We have been happy with him, he's been fit and healthy all year. We have to hope that he can maintain it now.

"When he is at the races and jumps out of the stalls, he is ready to go.

"But you wouldn't call him a horse that pulls, so a slow pace shouldn't be against him.

"He stayed well at Epsom, he never had any problems.

"We didn't miss the King George because of the distance, I just felt having had a Guineas preparation that it was just time to ease off a little bit, to take the foot off the pedal so to speak.

"It just happened the King George was it. I didn't enjoy missing it as it is a great race and we have been lucky to have won it twice in recent years.

"I would have loved to have run him in it. It would have been either miss that or York, and we worked out that a little break was good.

"Mick (Kinane) has been great on him all year and has so much experience, such a calm approach to all his races, and has been in all these races before.

"He also knows all the idiosyncrasies of the track.

"We never discuss the race much before, he knows the horse and the opposition.

"It is a great comfort to have him."

Oxx will be having just his second runner in the Arc, and currently holds a 100% strike-rate after Sinndar powered to glory in 2000.

But there is no doubting Sea The Stars has a special place in the heart of the softly-spoken Currabeg maestro.

He added: "You would have to say he is the best I have ever trained.

"Sinndar was also a great horse and I'm sure he would also have been very good over shorter trips.

"But like a lot of good horses he was kept at what was considered his strength - which was a mile and a half.

"When we built him up for that to run him at Epsom, we kept him at that for the Arc as it looked the obvious race for him.

"But with this fellow it has been different, he has all this range of possibilities distance-wise so there were all these other races to go for.

"He has come through them all spectacularly well.

"He just has so much speed, the way he travels through the race, the way he canters on the bridle and it is remarkable to watch it. He's got to be the best I have had, he is the horse with the highest rating I have had.

"He always looked special from the day he came to us. He seemed to know what to do right away and was a lovely horse, you could do anything with him.

"It is quite something to end up with this fellow. The whole thing is a miracle, it's a series of miracles, there are various strands to it.

"To train horses like Sea The Stars, Sinndar, Azamour or Ridgewood Pearl, that's what you dream about when your father is a trainer or as a kid growing up.

"You want to train lots of winners, you want to do well and provide a good service and have happy clients and train winners for them.

"But it's the great horses along the way that makes it worthwhile.

"We have the last hurdle to jump now and the Arc is of course a race where horses are ultimately judged, so we have to get through that.

"It would be nice and that is why it is important to win again.

"If you are afraid of losing you would be afraid to get out of bed in the morning. You got to face that and the horse has achieved a lot already.

"If he loses for whatever reason, well you have to be philosophical. You have to face the music.

"To have a landmark horse like this, one people will remember, is as big a thing as you can get.

"We are just helping him along."

Good article, and spoken like a realist. Promises to be a great race, I should have stayed in Europe a bit longer!

Yes Magic, when Nijinsky got beat was it Lester over confident or had the St Leger/triple crown just been a bit hard on the horse?

Probably the St Leger. Nijinsky at his best would have won that Arc with Piggott fast asleep in his pyjamas!

Sea The Stars drawn in stall six for Sunday's Arc

SEA THE STARS has been drawn in gate six for the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Fame And Glory has stall ten and Conduit is drawn 12.

Nineteen runners will go to post for the world's richest turf race at Longchamp on Sunday, after Johann Zoffany was the only absentee at Friday's final declaration stage.


If recent results are anything to go by, connections of Sea The Stars will be delighted with the draw, as two of the last four winners, Dylan Thomas (2007) and Hurricane Run (2005), were victorious in the race from stall six.



The Mick Channon-trained Youmzain, who will race in a visor, has been handed a tricky draw in stall one. Although Zarkava won the Arc from stall one last year, her victory was the first from the lowest draw since Prince Royal in 1964.

Godolphin's Cavalryman also has work to do to overcome the widest draw in 19.

Dar Re Mi, who was disqualified in the Prix Vermeille last month, will race from stall two. The promoted winner of that race, Stacelita, has been drawn 16, which may not be ideal for a filly who likes to race prominently, as the stall numbers go from low against the rail to high on the outside (the opposite to Britain).

The classy Vision D'Etat has a decent draw in nine, while Aidan O'Brien's two pacesetters, Set Sail and Grand Ducal, will race from stalls 14 and five respectively.

I just hope that whatever happens there are no hard luck stories. French racing is known for tactical affairs with dodgy decisions by stewards. It would be great to see the champ win what could be his final race however I won't be taking the 8-10 on offer.

Zarkava was a bigger certainty in a much weaker arc last year and u could still get better than 15-10. I think a place bet on Conduit could be the way to play.

Great article above by John Oxx. You can almost feel the love and respect the man has for this horse through his words.

I have said it before and I'll say it again.....Sea the Stars is the greatest horse I have ever seen race.....No matter what the outcome on Sunday!

I wish it was SUNDAY already!!!

Just wish I could be at the track side for this one Tommy

Scenic blast running in Japan at the weekend as well,sure i read somewhere that there is 21 Grp1 races this weekend!!

Goldikova running today,and 1/2 looks about right ,maybe even a tad generous?