John Oxx gives his reaction to Sea The Stars' victory.
Sea The Stars secured racing immortality with victory in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp.
The John Oxx-trained colt carved his name into the annals of Turf history with a sixth consecutive Group One triumph.
Brilliantly ridden by the veteran Mick Kinane, who has been at the helm for all nine of Sea The Stars' racecourse appearances, the remarkable three-year-old emphatically justified red-hot favouritism.
It was also the manner of Sea The Stars' triumph which made his exploits in France all the more exemplary. Having been very keen and lost ground in the early throes of the race, many observers might have been forgiven for fearing the worst.
Even approaching the top of the home turn, Kinane's partner was engulfed behind a wall of horses - with Set Sail and Grand Ducal ensuring a generous pace from the head of affairs.
Once the gaps appeared, however, the race changed suddenly.
Stacelita went for the jugular inside the final 300 yards but Sea The Stars had all bases covered under his unflappable rider.
Exhibiting a jaw-dropping turn of foot, the Cape Cross colt scampered clear inside the final 200 yards to easily repel the challenge of the game Youmzain.
Oxx joked afterwards: '(My heart) is still beating fairly slow, I think. It's wonderful that it's over - it's just a great relief.
'It's wonderful that he's come through it. He was in a nice position and he just had to step up the gears a bit to get out. Mick would not panic because this horse has the gears.
'That's what any jockey will tell you, if the horse has the speed and the gears he will get himself out of trouble.'
Sea The Stars has, incredulously, now won a Group One race in every month since May, when he scorched to victory in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.
Subsequent triumphs in the Epsom Derby and Coral-Eclipse soon followed, after which he headed to York for the Juddmonte International.
It was a similar outcome on the Knavesmire as the Christopher Tsui-owned maestro defeated Mastercraftsman by a length.
Next up was the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, where he produced a clinical performance in dispatching the challenge of perennial bridesmaid Fame And Glory.
If the Irish Champion represented his hitherto most accomplished success, Sea The Stars' victory in the Arc was easily his most important - and arguably his most dramatic.
Such is the fiery strength in depth within the European showpiece, it is easy to understand how upwardly-mobile animals can occasionally stall in the Parisian suburbs.
Thanks to Sea The Stars' unparalleled magnificence, even when the chips are down, racing purists not once had cause for concern. No other horse has ever secured the Guineas, Derby and Arc treble. Then again, Sea The Stars is unlike any other horse we have seen before.
A slight disappointment in the race was Irish Derby winner Fame And Glory, who finished sixth.
Trainer Aidan O'Brien said: 'He ran well and I'm not sure what we will do now. Sea The Stars is a great horse and an absolute credit to John Oxx.'
Of Stacelita, who came home joint-seventh with La Boum, owner Martin Schwartz said: 'She has finished four lengths behind the greatest horse since Secretariat, so they say.
'I think when Sea The Stars went past her, I think he asked her out on a date! They would be quite a match. It's good to be at the show. I don't imagine she will run again this year but she will continue in training next year.'
