How Sir Michael Stoute's big-hearted Crystal Ocean rose to be a star

It took until he was five for Crystal Ocean to win a Group 1 and shoot to the top of the world rankings. Here's how he got there

Gordon Stakes, Group 3, Goodwood, August 2017, RPR 116

After placed efforts at York (Dante) and Ascot (King Edward VII), Crystal Ocean landed his first Group race on his fifth career start when storming home by three and a half lengths from Khalidi at Goodwood. He showed a high cruising speed and impressive turn of foot, traits that would later enable him to climb to the top of the ladder. The following month he finished a half-length second to Capri in the St Leger at Doncaster.

Hardwicke Stakes, Group 2, Royal Ascot, June 2018, RPR 121

At the start of the 2018 Flat season Crystal Ocean was on most people's horses-to-follow lists. He kicked off with two Group 3 wins at Sandown and Newbury before justifying odds of 4-7 in Royal Ascot’s Hardwicke Stakes, his first Group 2 triumph. Once asked to lengthen by Ryan Moore, he powered two and a half lengths clear of Red Verdon in tremendous style, leaving the impression even better was to come.

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Group 1, Ascot, July 2018, RPR 128

Sent off 6-4 favourite to secure his first Group 1, Crystal Ocean went down with all guns blazing in one of the most thrilling races of the season. After accelerating two lengths clear early in the straight, he was tackled by stablemate Poet’s Word at the furlong pole. The son of Sea The Stars made the bravest of bids to resist his challenger, but Poet’s Word gained the upper hand in the final 75 yards and beat him by a neck, the pair pulling nine lengths clear of the third, Coronet.

Titanic tussle: Crystal Ocean (left) pipped by stablemate Poet's Word in the 2018 King GeorgeCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

Prince of Wales’s Stakes, Group 1, Royal Ascot, June 2019, RPR 128

Crystal Ocean became a Group 1 hero at the fourth attempt. Billed as the race of the meeting, with the likes of Magical and Sea Of Class in opposition, Sir Michael Stoute’s star proved himself equally effective at a mile and a quarter as a mile and a half with a performance of sheer class. Positively ridden by Frankie Dettori, he seized command over two furlongs out, and stayed on relentlessly through the mud to beat Magical by a length and a quarter. It was thoroughly deserved.

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Group 1, Ascot, July 2019, RPR 129

The market suggested supermare Enable was in a different league, but Crystal Ocean proved otherwise with the best performance of his career. Despite giving 3lb to John Gosden’s runner, he went close to ending her ten-run winning streak, going down by a neck after a titanic tussle which saw him battle back courageously after being headed two furlongs out. It was a run that highlighted the qualities which made Crystal Ocean special – he was all class and all heart.

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