Racing Ahead – August 2019

36

in August. So far she’d shown herself
to be a very useful but had yet to make
a breakthrough at Gr.1 level so her
chance in her next start appeared slim
as she was asked to face up to the elite
of the world’s turf middle distance
horses in the Prix De L’Arc De Triom-
phe at Longchamp.
Of the 23 runners the betting market
had her ranked 13th and she started at
37/1. Hindsight would show that this
was only the third time she’d faced
soft ground or worse and she’d won
the other twice but, even allowing for
that apparently strong ground prefer-
ence, she appeared to have a fair bit to
find with those at the head of the
market. They included King George
winner Opera House, Vermeille winner
Intrepidity, Irish Oaks winner Wemyss
Bight, French Derby winner Hernando
and multiple Gr.1 winner User Friendly.
Urban Sea broke well and raced in
fourth or fifth early on. Eric St. Martin,
son of legendary French jockey Yves,
then took her onto a position on the
rail where she raced into the home
straight, travelling well. As they turned
into the home straight she needed the
right gaps appearing at the right time,
but they did and she quickened up
well to pass Opera House and take the
lead going into the final furlong. White
Muzzle was challenging on the outside
but Urban Sea always looked like just
holding on and she duly did so, win-
ning by a neck at the line.
Her final race was at Epsom where
she lined up for the 1994 Coronation
Cup on good to firm. She finished
fourth, to the Andre Fabre trained
Apple Tree before a fetlock injury
ended her racing career.
She’d raced in France, England, Ger-
many, Hong Kong, Canada, the United
States and Japan and had won the
world’s most prestigious all-aged Flat
race. But all that was eclipsed, spec-
tacularly so, by what she went on to
achieve as a broodmare.

Urban Ocean
By the time she was first covered in
1995 her half sister, Allez Les Trois, had
added to Urban Sea’s dam Allegretta’s
standing by winning at Gr.3 level in
France while two of her other siblings,

Shadideen and Irish Allegre were also

winners.

Bering, runner-up in Dancing Brave’s

Arc, was selected as Urban Sea’s first

mate. The resultant offspring, Urban

Ocean, sold for 230,000 gns at Tatter-

salls October yearling sale and, jointly

owned during his racing career by

David Tsui and Mrs John Magnier, went

to Aidan O’Brien, then just starting his

career at Ballydoyle. Useful on his day,

Urban Ocean raced 14 times for 4 wins,

including a Gr.3 success in the

Gallinule Stakes.

The following breeding season saw

Urban Sea go to Derby and Arc winner

Lammtarra. At the same time her dam

Allegretta would be covered by King-

mambo, the union producing the

Guineas winner King’s Best, described

by Sir Michael Stoute as the best miler

he had trained. King’s Best would go

on to be a successful sire, numbering

Derby and Arc winner Workforce

among his progeny.

Melikah

Urban Sea’s filly foal by Lammtarra

went to the Deauville Autumn sales as

a yearling and broke the sales record,

raising a bid of 10m FFr ($1.6m).

Named Melikah, she only made it to

the track four times. But what she in

race quantity she more than made up

for in quality, winning the Pretty Polly

at Newmarket on her debut before fin-

ishing third in the Oaks at Epsom and

runner up in the Irish equivalent. She

raced just once more, finishing fifth in

the Prix Vermeille.

Melikah was very successful at stud.

She threw 9 winners including Master-

stroke, winner of the Grand Prix De

Deauville and third in the Arc, Mr

Moonlight Magic, winner of the Derrin-

stown Stud Derby Trial and Listed

Stakes winner Hidden Gold. Melikah

only had two daughters, Hidden Gold

and Villarica.

Villarica, who was a winner for Sir

Michael Stoute, herself had a winning

daughter Khawlah (by Cape Cross,

making her a close relative to Sea The

Stars, of whom more later). Khawlah

won the UAE Derby before going to

stud where, from a covering to New

Approach, she produced a colt foal,

inbred 3x4 to Urban Sea. Named

Masar, the colt went on to win the 2018

Derby.

Galileo

By 1997 Sadler’s Wells was long recog-

nised as the world’s pre-eminent

stallion and it was with high hopes that

Urban Sea would have been sent to

him. The result of the pairing surely

exceeded even the most optimistic of

STAR STALLIONS

RACING AHEADISSUE 178

Red Galileo, ridden by

Daniel Tudhope, finishes

second in the Mukhadram

Godolphin Stakes at

Newmarket