{After|Following|Since|Ever Since|Shortly after|Just after} Sea The Stars' {amazing|brilliant|captivating|historic|fantastic} {win|victory} in the {Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe|Arc} {in Paris|at Longchamp}, it has been {asked|questioned|debated} whether he is the greatest {|Flat} {racehorse|horse} ever to have {existed|been born|run}. The horse bred from Cape Cross and mare Urban Sea, {|hence the name, the Cape Cross is a star constellation and Urban Sea makes "Sea The Stars",} has provided {racing|horseracing} with one of the {best|greatest} horses to ever grace the {track|turf}. So it has come as a {surprise|bit of a shock} to {find out|hear} that he is going to be {put out to stud|retired}. Some, although well able to admit his {quality|brilliance} refuse to believe that he is one of the {|three} {best|greatest} {horses|racehorses} of all time. Joe Mercer, {an ex|a former} {|champion} jockey who rode {|Brigadier Gerard} in the early {seventies|1970s}, is one voice of {doubt|skepticism}. He {worries|fears} that we are in danger of being swept up in the momentary {hype|glory|madness}, but he {recalls|remembers} {race horses|horses} {such as|like} Galileo who won {big races|the King George} in 2001. {Back then|Then} {people|everyone|the punters} thought that Galileo was the best horse that had ever been seen - and as Mercer {adds|affirms}: you can't have a best horse you've ever seen every other year! He points out that the horse he rode, Brigadier Gerard won thirteen Group Ones, whereas Sea The Stars has only won six.

{Some|Others} though have been less hesitant to {knock|vilify} Sea The Stars. Pat Eddery who rode Dancing Brave to victory in the Prix de l'Arc in 1986 has said that Sea The Stars is "up there with the best", and laughed at the {idea|suggestion} that he {could|might} resent the {|current} champion being regarded by many as a better horse than the one he rode.

And Sea The Stars has done things that others more than likely would not have been able to {do|achieve}. He has been the first to {do|complete} the 2000 Guineas Derby Arc {123|treble|combo} and has {beaten|destroyed|whipped} the rest of the {|Classic} generation - as well as Europe's best older horses - at eight, 10 and 12 furlongs or a mile to a mile-and-half. It has been expected that he would fail at some {time|point}, especially as throughout the season a horse will usually lose {momentum|energy} and {wane|tire}, but not Sea The Stars. He has grown nothing but fitter, stronger and faster. He is the {ultimate|perfect} {|race} horse, what {all|every} {trainer|breeder} in the world wants their horses to be. He has been trainer John Oxx's {|sepcial} project, and he has put him through his paces - {6|six} months of racing without a break, which is something that most horses who go on to compete in the Arc get. He has made {|ex} jockey {Mick|Mickey} Kinane, at the age of {fifty|50}, look rejuvenated and his 27 year old owner Christopher Tsui act {like a teenager|16}!

{So why oh why is|Why is|What makes} Sea The Stars, such a {massively|hugely|incredibly} successful {horse|racehorse}, being sent to stud after {only|just} {2|two} seasons on the {circuit|track|turf}? There are many who are {extremely sad|devastated} that he is not going to be sent to next month's {BCC|Breeders Cup Classic}. But the Breeders Cup is {a huge|an exacting|a demanding} test which could really exhaust the horse after {such a long season|he has already achieved so much}. It {might have|may have} put him ahead of Dancing Brave but after all, {he has nothing left to prove|what's left to prove|does he really need to prove anything else?}, {nearly everyone|everyone} has already seen what Sea The Stars {is capable of.|can do.}