The 1993 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Urban Sea has had an impact as a broodmare second to none in recent times, with the deceased chestnut responsible for the Derby winning half-brothers, and outstanding sires, Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) and Sea The Stars (Cape Cross).
The remarkable Urban Sea produced a total of 8 stakes winners, notably the Gr1 winners Galileo, Sea The Stars, My Typhoon (Giant’s Causeway) and Black Sam Bellamy (Sadler’s Wells).
Urban Sea wins the 1993 Arc
Sarah Whitelaw writes that Galileo, recently responsible for his 300th individual stakes winner, and Sea The Stars have dominated major European races in recent times, and both now have a plethora of sire sons at stud.
In 2019 alone, Galileo and Sea The Stars have been responsible for 11 Gr1 winners, with their offspring taking such races as the Investec Derby, Gold Cup, Grand Prix de Paris, Juddmonte International, Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, 1000 Guineas, Irish Oaks, and Irish 1000 Guineas.
Between them, Galileo and Sea The Stars accounted for four young stallions, touted among the ten most promising young sires around in a recent Thoroughbred Racing Commentary article, while Galileo is also responsible for top sires New Approach, Frankel, and Teofilo, among others.
Galileo is also firmly established as an outstanding broodmare sire, a claim it is surely only a matter of time that his brilliant half-brother will lay claim to.
Galileo
Sea The Stars and Galileo’s remarkable dam is also now making her presence felt through her daughters and granddaughters, with the Urban Sea impact – Urban Sea appears in the pedigree of each and every one of the runners in the 2019 Gr1 Investec Derby – showing no sign of slowing.
Urban Sea’s remarkable influence was once again underlined at Friday night’s meeting at the Curragh.
Promising 2yo filly, Cayenne Pepper, (by Galileo’s son, Australia) made it three wins from three starts, when she accounted for So Wonderful (War Front) in the Gr3 Flame Of Tara Irish EBF Stakes. Not only is Cayenne Pepper (who is inbred to Urban Sea’s dam, Allegretta) descended in female line from Allegretta, but both Flame Of Tara runner up, So Wonderful, and third place-getter, A New Dawn, (Zoffany) are descended in female line from Urban Sea. While Cayenne Pepper’s dam, Muwakaba, (Elusive Quality) is out of a Nureyev half-sister to Urban Sea, So Wonderful’s dam, Epsom Oaks runner up, Wonder Of Wonders (Kingmambo), is a granddaughter of Urban Sea and A New Dawn’s third dam is also Urban Sea.
Urban Sea is the granddam of last Friday night’s Gr3 Snow Fairy Fillies Stakes winner, Goddess (Camelot), with the latter (a three-parts sister to this season’s high-class 3yo, Sir Dragonet, (Camelot)) being produced by Urban Sea’s increasingly successful daughter, Cherry Hinton (Green Desert). Urban Sea appears in the pedigree of four of the first five home in the Snow Fairy Fillies Stakes, another fine achievement for this broodmare extraordinaire.
Cherry On The Cake
A three-parts sister to Sea The Stars, Gr3 Blue Wind Stakes runner up, Cherry Hinton (the granddam of A New Dawn) is fast compiling an impressive record at stud.
Not only is the daughter of Urban Sea the dam of the aforementioned Goddess, Cherry Hinton is also dam of Goddess’ Gr1 Belmont Oaks winning own sister, Athena, Irish Oaks winner, Bracelet (by Camelot’s sire Montjeu) and Gr2 Rockfel Stakes heroine, Wading (Montjeu).
Cherry Hinton is also ancestress of a growing number of stakes performers, including A New Dawn and the high-class filly, Just Wonderful (Dansili). The latter both won the Gr2 Rockfel and Gr3 Flame Of Tara Stakes at two, before training on to take second spot in the Gr1 Belmont Oaks at three.
Another daughter of Urban Sea to make her mark at stud is the Epsom Oaks runner up, All Too Beautiful. That daughter of Sadler’s Wells only had a handful of foals, but her three black type performers included fellow Oaks second, Wonder Of Wonders, Italian stakes winner, Victory Song (Dansili), and Gr3 performer Sparrow, dam of recent Gr3 Chester Vase winner, Sir Dragonet.
Stakes winner and Oaks third Alluringly (Fastnet Rock) was produced by a daughter of All Too Beautiful.
Top Class
Yet another daughter of Urban Sea to make her mark at stud is Pretty Polly Stakes winner and Irish Oaks runner up, Melikah. The daughter of Lammtarra is ancestress of a host of top-class performers including Derby winner, Masar, and fellow group/graded stakes winners, Khawlah, Masterstroke (Monsun), Vancouverite (Dansili) and Moonlight Magic.
William Buick celebrates as Masar wins The Investec Derby.
Both Moonlight Magic and UAE Derby winner, Khawlah (dam of Masar), were sired by Cape Cross, the sire of Urban Sea’s outstanding son, Sea The Stars. Urban Sea, to whom recently retired Investec Derby winner, Masar (New Approach) is closely inbred, clearly rates as the leading individual broodmare of her generation and her influence looks set to continue for decades to come.
Inbreeding to Urban Sea’s dam, Allegretta (Lombard), is also on the increase, with this pattern having already produced the group/graded stakes winners, Armanade (Sea The Stars), the aforementioned Cayenne Pepper, and Tantheem (Teofilo), as well as Gr1 performer Frankly Awesome (Frankel) and recent Windsor Castle Stakes winner, Southern Hills (Gleneagles).
