MICK KINANE DOES THE TRICK

AS he pounded the Dubai streets under an unforgiving sun, Mick Kinane could barely think let alone dream.

For five miles a day last winter, the old man of racing drove his 49-year-old body through the desert heat. He was willing to make the sacrifice, safe in the knowledge there was something special waiting for him back home. That something special was Sea The Stars and a dream fulfilled.

And as the pair strode imperiously down Epsom's infamous hill, all the years fell away as Kinane drove the 11-4 second favourite to a 1¾-length victory over Fame And Glory.

Kinane said: "He was alive today. He had come on nicely from the 2,000 Guineas. We had to chase him hard to get him to Newmarket and since then he's blossomed.

"John Oxx's done a marvellous job. Every step of the way I was winning today. It was special to go out there when you ride a favourite and for Plan A-plus to come into play. It doesn't happen very often.

"I didn't want him getting away with me, so I just took him back to where I was comfortable.

"I knew the two leaders weren't bad horses and I was only riding my race to get to them at the furlong-marker."

Trainer Oxx said: "This fellow has never let us down - he is right up to the very top level.

"He had a lovely position cruising down the hill and I could see Mick was waiting and waiting. When he sent him on I knew he would not stop.

"I'm a believer in the Triple Crown - it's a nice dream - but I think the St Leger might be a bridge too far. If we make an entry for him, it might be just be mischievous one.

"We will look at the Irish Derby but he would not run if the ground was soft - and it hasn't stopped raining in Ireland for about 2½ years!"

The 2,000 Guineas victory had marked Sea The Stars out as quality. But this victory - the first 'double' since Nashwan back in 1989 - confirmed trainer Oxx's belief that this was a beast of absolute pedigree, one of the finest to tread Epsom's turf for many a year.

Just two weeks from his own landmark birthday, Kinane could not have wished for a more comfortable triumph. He might still be a few years away from his retirement pipe and slippers but he could have had both on a furlong from home and still nobody could have touched him.

While the rest of the field was straining every sinew turning through Tattenham Corner, Kinane was the most relaxed man in the world. He held up Sea the Stars before unleashing the colt as the winning line came in view.

Mick Kinane and Sea The Stars

'Serious cruise control' is how Kinane described it. Soul-destroying is how the 11 other riders must have seen it. For once Kinane gave Sea the Stars his head, there was only one winner.

There may have been a blanket finish for the places but there was never a single moment's doubt who the best horse in the race was.

It was Kinane's third Derby triumph following Commander in Chief in 1993 and Galileo in 2001 but this was easily his most satisfying.

He prepared ferociously for the season in the Middle East, working on his fitness, desperate to prove that a man in sight of his half-century still had what it takes to succeed. A horse like Sea The Stars also helps. Kinane, Oxx and owner Christopher Tsui had seen the market fluctuate ahead of the race with big money for Rip Van Winkle as punters gambled on Johnny Murtagh's choice out of all the Ballydoyle horses.

Murtagh, the supreme tactician, couldn't have made a wrong choice, could he? He must have known that, out of all Aidan O'Brien's stable, Rip Van Winkle was the one.

But Murtagh HAD made a rare mistake. His chosen one finished strongly but it was another of O'Brien's six, Masterofthehorse, that edged home for third. He was a lifetime adrift of Sea The Stars.

Who, now, would bet against Sea The Stars landing the St Leger and becoming the first since Nijinsky in 1970 to complete the dream hat-trick?

Certainly not Kinane. If it takes a few more wearying miles on the streets, he will do it. Only rarely does a horse of this quality come along.

And, at almost 50-years-old, how many more like Sea The Stars is Kinane going to enjoy?

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