The Tsui family has completed the race to stand homebred sensation Sea The Stars, opting to send the six-time Group 1 winner to the Aga Khan’s Gilltown Stud in County Kildare, Ireland, for the 2010 season.
A stud fee has not been announced for the three-year-old Cape Cross (Ire) colt, who emulated his dam, Urban Sea, by Miswaki, by winning the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Fr-G1) on October 4 at Longchamp in his final start.
The Tsui family will retain ownership of Sea The Stars, who also won the Investec Epsom Derby (Eng-G1), Tattersalls Millions Irish Champion Stakes (Ire-G1), Juddmonte International Stakes (Eng-G1), Coral Eclipse Stakes (Eng-G1), and Stanjames.com Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) in an undefeated three-year-old season.
The addition of Sea The Stars caps a momentous month for the Aga Khan, who won seven group stakes races during Arc weekend at Longchamp, including five Group 1 events.
“Gilltown is an ideal stud for Sea The Stars to thrive and develop as a stallion and there is no more appropriate place for him to stand than in his homeland and close to Currabeg where he was trained by John Oxx,” said Ling Tsui, the mother of Christopher Tsui, who raced Sea The Stars. “His Highness was kind enough to let us stand Sea The Stars at Gilltown while keeping ownership of him and we are most grateful. The staff and facilities at Gilltown are top class and Sea The Stars will enjoy his stay there.”
Dalakhani, the 2003 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner, also stands at Gilltown Stud, and the Aga Khan said he would look forward to the chance to breed Sea The Stars to his unbeaten mare Zarkava, who capped her career with a win over males in the ’08 Arc.
“I believe the last two Arc winners were made for each other both in terms of ability, temperament and conformation,” the Aga Khan said. “The best needs to be bred to the best.”
The Tsuis bred Sea The Stars in Ireland in the name of their Sunderland Holdings. He is a half brother to fellow Epsom Derby winner Galileo (Ire), who topped the English and Irish sire list in 2008. Another half brother, multiple Group 1 winner Black Sam Bellamy, stands in England, and his half sister, Grade 1 winner My Typhoon (Ire), is a broodmare in Florida for Charlotte Weber’s Live Oak Stud.
“We are all proud to have such a remarkable athlete join the Aga Khan stallions at stud, and we are convinced that the Aga Khan mares, who have produced outstanding racehorses during the last 50 years, will breed very well indeed to Sea The Stars,” the Aga Khan said. “Mrs. Tsui and Christopher’s decision is certainly one of the most important developments for my operation since I inherited it in 1960.
“I am also most pleased that Mrs. Tsui and Christopher will be developing their own breeding operation with the help of their magnificent horse, Sea The Stars. This horse could also help develop relations to bring Chinese investment into the European bloodstock market.”