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To say STS shouldn’t be up there with some of the greats listed on this thread is sad.
STS could only beat what was put in front of him, and did so very well, as Frankel did. Frankel won more G1’s, but STS won more prestigious G1’s.
Wonderful horse, great presence, strong eyes. And ran pretty quick as well.
Refraining from racing a horse when conditions are severely against him is not "ducking". A trip to the breeders cup when he was going in his coat on arc day would have been foolish; running him on unsuitable ground in the middle of the season may have put him back.
One wonders how camelots career might have gone differently had he not run in the irish derby.
As I recall his Arc performance was all the more meritorious given the pocket he found himself in on the rail as the field entered the home straight. You can argue he was luck and got the breaks. However there was an interesting debate about this on RUK the other day and it was concluded that only very good horses have the raw speed and will to win required to expolit split second opportunities when they arise.
I also think his style of winning, just doing enough, will always encourage people to downgrade his performances. Mick Kinane always insisted he was lazy and only ever did enough, and that there was a lot more to come if required. Not blessed with talent even approaching Sea The Stars’ since the great horse was retired, I wonder if Christopher Tsui wishes he had kept him going for another season at least?
I also think his style of winning, just doing enough, will always encourage people to downgrade his performances. Mick Kinane always insisted he was lazy and only ever did enough, and that there was a lot more to come if required.
I do agree with this statement but, simultaneously, I’ve always got the impression that the ‘lazy’ thing is what could’ve potenailly made STS susceptible to a horse with a vicious turn of foot. That said, his sublime battling ability was at the core of his strength.
While Sea The Stars was a warrior, Dancing Brave seemed more of a magician and Frankel a demi-god in comparison.
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