Sea the Stars to breed with fellow Arc winner Zarkava

NEWS: SEA THE Stars, who is to stand at the Aga Khan's Gilltown Stud in Co Kildare, will breed with fellow Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Zarkava.

The Aga Khan owns the unbeaten filly Zarkava, who won the Arc in 2008. He said he will send Zarkava to the recently retired colt “at the earliest opportunity”, adding: “I believe the last two Arc winners were made for each other. The best needs to be bred to the best.”

Ladbrokes offer 100 to 1 that the offspring of Sea The Stars and Zarkava will win the 2014 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. The horse is priced at 4 to 1 to sire a Classic winner in his first crop.

Sea The Stars is potentially the most valuable stallion on the planet after rounding off his three-year-old career unbeaten in six Group Ones. The horse will stand for a fee of €85,000 and is expected to generate annual fees in the region of €11 million.

Owners the Tsui family had been considering various options for their colt after he was officially retired a couple of weeks ago.

“We have decided to stand Sea The Stars in Ireland at Gilltown Stud, with his highness the Aga Khan,” Ling Tsui, mother of his registered owner, Christopher Tsui, said in a statement.

“Gilltown is an ideal stud for Sea The Stars to thrive and develop as a stallion, and there is no more appropriate place for him to stand than in his homeland and close to Currabeg where he was trained by John Oxx.

“His highness was kind enough to let us stand Sea The Stars at Gilltown while keeping ownership of him and we are most grateful.”

The Aga Khan added: “We are all proud to have such a remarkable athlete join the Aga Khan stallions at stud, and we are convinced that the Aga Khan mares, who have produced outstanding racehorses during the last 50 years, will breed very well indeed to Sea The Stars.

“Mrs Tsui and Christopher’s decision is certainly one of the most important developments for my operation since I inherited it in 1960.

“I am also most pleased that Mrs Tsui and Christopher will be developing their own breeding operation with the help of their magnificent horse, Sea The Stars.

“This horse could also help develop relations to bring Chinese investment into the European bloodstock market.”

Oxx said: “I think he was always going to stand in Ireland, and he’ll get supported with some great mares there.”