ISSUE 178 RACING AHEAD 35seeking to cut their losses her owners
decided to send her to the sale where
she was bought by the Marystead
partnership for $55,000.
Allegretta’s subsequent breeding
career was a revelation. Three of her
first four foals were winners and the
fourth became a stakes producer. She
gradually traded up in terms of stal-
lions and in 1988 she was sent to
Miswaki who, as a son of Mr Prospec-
tor, was in strong demand and had
made a good start to his career. The
mating resulted in a chestnut filly foal.
The filly was sent to the Deauville’s
1990 yearling sale where she was
bought for 280,000 FF (roughly
£30,000) by French trainer Jean Les-
bordes on behalf of successful Hong
Kong based businessman David Tsui
who named her Urban Sea.
Her racing career began with a soli-
tary maiden win aged two. By three
she had started to progress although
she started her three-year-old season
in unremarkable fashion, last into the
straight she finished 6th of the 8 run-
ners in the Gr.3 Prix De La Grotte over
a mile. For the second start she was
sent to Dusseldorf to contest the Gr.2
Arag Preis, again over a mile. Once
again she was held up at the back but
on this occasion she made good late
headway to take third on the line, her
racing style hinting strongly that her
stout distaff pedigree had imparted
plenty staying ability.
Back in France for the Listed Prix De
Seine she duly won when encounter-
ing the two things that would show
her at her best through the rest of her
racing career; a middle distance trip
and soft ground. But it wasn’t a great
Listed event, the Andre Fabre trained
runner-up Sans Escale ended her
career as a maiden, and Urban Sea
appeared to face a stiff task next time
when stepping up to Group One com-
pany in the Prix De Diane. She ran
creditably enough, only beaten three
and a half lengths into sixth behind
Jolypha, on ground that didn’t have asmuch cut as she needed.
After a narrow second the following
month behind Linnga in the Prix Min-
erve at Evry on her first try at a mile
and a half she then dropped back in
trip to 10 furlongs for the Piaget D’Or,
a valuable Listed race. She had soft
ground again and once more found it
to her liking, winning by two and a half
lengths from Sheba Dancer, who had
been runner-up in the Prix De Diane.
Sent to North America in late
autumn, she was a good second to the
very useful Hatoof in the EP Taylor
Stakes at Woodbine.
She was kept in training at four and
started off by winning the Gr.3 Prix
Exbury. Urban Sea was then beaten in
her next three starts, the last of which
saw her finishing a close second
behind Sir Henry Cecil’s Placerville in
the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal
Ascot. Dropping back to Listed status
next time she duly obliged in a three-
runner affair and followed up in a the
Gr.3 Prix GontautBiron at Deauville▲Urban Sea wins the
1993 Prix de l'Arc
de Triomphe