The incredible tale of the Arc heroine who changed lives and racing forever
Lee Mottershead looks back 25 years to a remarkable Paris champion
Every part of this perfectly true story appears improbable and is much the better for it.
The beginning, the middle and the end are all as wonderfully unlikely as each other, yet as new postscript chapters continue to be written, there is not really an end at all. The legacy of what Urban Sea achieved on an October afternoon 25 years ago lives on to this very day.
There has surely never been a more successful broodmare than the horse who in 1993 fought valiantly under Eric Saint-Martin to land the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Through her children and her children's children she has left an indelible stamp on the sport, her name present in the pedigrees of countless superstars.
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
Published on 8 May 2020inFeatures
Last updated 15:46, 8 May 2020
Copy- Government says it is working 'at pace' to have white paper measures in force by the summer
- 'The only thing you can do is lie fallow and regroup' - Meades to return with scaled-back operation following blank period
- The Gambling Commission has launched its new corporate strategy - but what are the key points?
- 'It was tragic it happened to Paddy but it was a good thing for the jockeys who followed - good came out of bad'
- Acquisitions, exits and retail resilience - what we learned from Flutter and 888's results
- Government says it is working 'at pace' to have white paper measures in force by the summer
- 'The only thing you can do is lie fallow and regroup' - Meades to return with scaled-back operation following blank period
- The Gambling Commission has launched its new corporate strategy - but what are the key points?
- 'It was tragic it happened to Paddy but it was a good thing for the jockeys who followed - good came out of bad'
- Acquisitions, exits and retail resilience - what we learned from Flutter and 888's results