Sea The Stars: not his best effort on RPRs, but still that of a great horse   PICTURE: Edward Whitaker/racingpostpix.com  

Sport stands united by brilliant Sea The Stars

WORLD CLASS: an analysis of the best performances of last week according to Racing post Ratings

TOP OF THE CLASS: Sea The Stars 132+

Trainer: John Oxx (Ire)

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe(Group 1), Longchamp, 1m4f, October 4

IN a sport built on conflicting and often polarised opinions, Sea The Stars provided a rare moment of unity on Sunday.

Seemingly everyone wanted the great horse to take his tally to six Group 1s in the Arc, and for those who witnessed his victory, the day will live long in the memory.

But it won't only be remembered for the way he pulled ferociously for the first half-mile.

Or for the wayhe slipped through the pack with such graceful power when the gaps appeared two furlongs from home.

Or for the way we all knew with one furlong to go that nothing was going to get past him.

None of those elements could fully define what happened on Sunday.

Spectators, connections and rivals alike would remember this day as something much bigger than that; something which was not bound simply by the winner's performance on the track.

This was history in the making.

When Clare Balding asked the crowd around the paddock who they expected to win, she was given the same answer every time, and though it came through in a cacophony of different dialects, the message was harmonious.

Personal attachments and national biases were thrown aside, as the world united to get behind the champion of their generation, all hoping he would become an all-time legend.

The son of Cape Cross had been backed to the exclusion of anything else all week and the betting frenzy continued unabated as he was shortened in to 4-6 at the off.

He broke away on terms, but the first half-mile played out like some terrible nightmare.

After such an intense build-up and such a magnificent campaign, he looked like he was going to ruin it all by pulling-away his chance like Helissio did in the French Derby. But maybe if he could eventually settle, he would win despite the furious head-shaking, like Rakti in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes?

He hit 2-1 on Betfair. The world felt sick. 'Settle, please settle,' we urged.

As they turned for home he was stuck behind Vision D'Etat. Mick Kinane switched him inside. A gap opened up, he sped between the fillies Stacelita and Dar Re Mi at double-time and quickly shot three lengths clear.

And then, in true Sea The Stars-style, he knew he had doneenough and eased down in the final strides to secure a two-length success over Youmzain (125).

Though visually impressive, this was not his best performance on RPRs, and a mark of 132+ actually ranks third on his list of outstanding figures this term.

The form of the Arc simply does not warrant this being rated up with his Eclipse and Irish Champion Stakes victories.

Even allowing for his ease and style, the overall level is strictly limited by the prominence of La Boum, Magadan and Tangaspeed, who all appear to have registered career-bests.

A mark of 132+ is no mediocre effort though. Indeed, only Rip Van Winkle has matched that level in the last two seasons - and that was in defeat to Sea The Stars.

In light of the continued brilliance of John Oxx's colt, his peak figure from the Irish Champion Stakes has been raised a pound to 138, making himthe clear best three-year-old in RPR history.

If we look beyond that, judged on his race record, Sea The Stars is undoubtedly one of the best three-year-olds Europe has ever seen.

The Arc took his record for the season to six dominant victories from six Group 1 starts, including the never-before-achieved trinity of the 2000 Guineas, Derby and Arc.

For a superior unbeaten record, you have to go right back to 1886, when Ormonde landed eight and a walkover in his Classic season, with victories including the Triple Crown series, the St James Palace, Hardwicke and Champion Stakes.

Another Triple Crowner, Flying Fox, was the last horse to equal Sea The Stars's six from six at the very highest level 110 years ago in 1899.

Then followed the Wright brothers, the Model T, television, two World Wars, Marty McFly got his parents back together, and then, 66 years on from Flying Fox, Sea-Bird almost matched the feat in 1965.

Obviously the racing world had changed completely in that time, with each country boasting a much larger and ever increasing horse population, and more accessible transportation between continents making racing a global game.

Sea Bird won all five of his starts including facile successes in the Derby and Arc and since then a couple of others have achieved similarly high-profile three-year-old campaigns.

In 1970, Nijinsky landed six, including the Triple Crown, Irish Derby and the King George, before running second in the Arc and Champion Stakes.

He perhaps shouldn't be judged solely on his Classic campaign, however, as he also went unbeaten-in-five as a juvenile, with victories in the Railway, Beresford, Anglesey and Dewhurst making him Champion two-year-old.

In 1986 Dancing Brave won six of his seven starts, including the Guineas, Eclipse, King George and Arc, while he also finished second in the Derby.

Though Dancing Brave's Derby defeat could be called unlucky, Sea The Stars can hardly be said to have had a great trip in the Arc on Sunday.

He wasted heaps of energy fighting for his head for half a mile and lost his prominent early pitch as Kinane tried to get him covered up, but he still managed to stamp his dominance over seven multiple-Group 1 winners, and did so easily in the end.

Precisely where Sea The Stars fits in amongst the likes of Dancing Brave, Nijinsky and Sea Bird is a matter of opinion, as all of them were utterly dominant against their contemporaries.

In some respects he could be better, in others, not as good, but the fact he should be mentioned up with such an imperious list is beyond doubt.

The problem is that everyone has a different list of criteria by which to define greatness.

Let's say, for instance, that a horse who had never run before came out and beat Sea The Stars by three lengths and then retired. Would he be the greatest ever?

Probably not, because most people require more than a just one-off display of scintillating ability. There is also consistency, versatility, longevity, number of G1 wins, strike-rate, style and determination to be factored in, and everyone will consider those elements to varying degrees.

Should Nijinsky top the list for dominating his crop for not just one year, but two, over trips of 6f to 1m6f? Or should he not because he was beaten after a bout of ringworm on his final starts?

Should Sea-Bird top the list for the raw natural talent he displayed in his incredibly easy Derby and Arc victories? Or should he be marked down, as those races were both over the same trip, and for the fact he wasn't campaigned as rigorously as the others?

Should Sea The Stars top the list for completing the best three-year-old season in over 100 years and still never hitting top gear? Or should we deduct points for him never winning by a huge margin?

If there was an accepted criteria for judging such a thing, then defining 'the best' would be easy.

In the BBC build-up to the Arc, they profiled Dancing Brave, Nijinsky and Sea-Bird, as well as Mill Reef, but they didn't say which was the best, they simply said: 'these are the greats'.

Well, now Sea The Stars is one of them. In some respects, he could even be the best.