SEA BIRD I I WAS A STUPENDOUS THOROUGHBRED

    Sea Bird II (1962- 1973) was owned and bred by the textile Honcho, Jean Ternynck, in Lille, France.His sire was the French Derby runner-up, Dan Cupid who was also trained,like his sire, by Etienne Pollet, in France. As a two year old, Sea Bird II had just 3 races. He won 2 of them and in his third, the Grand Critérium, he came second to his stablemate Grey Dawn. As a three year old, he had just 5 races and won them all in devastating style.His first race, as a three year old, was in the Prix Greffulhe which he won effortlessly.In his second race, the Prix Lupin, he beat Diatome by six lengths.Diatome went on to win the Washington International. In his third race, the Derby, he beat Meadow Court, very easily, by two lengths. Meadow Court went on to win the Irish Derby and the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes. His fourth race was in the Prix de Saint-Cloud in which, again, he won very easily by two and a half lengths.This was his preparation race for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, his fifth of the season, his eighth of his career and the last time that he ever graced a race track. In the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, he again, faced Meadow Court, Diatome, Reliance, the French Derby winner, Anilin, the Russian Derby winner & the Preakness Stakes winner, Tom Rolfe.He literally routed the opposition winning by a widening 6 lengths. After the race, Sea Bird II was retired to stud in Kentucky where he sired Allez France, a mare who,won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Sea Pigeon, who won the Champion Hurdle, Gyr, who came second to Nijinsky II in the Derby and Little Current, who won both the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. For his exploits on the track, Timeform awarded Sea Bird II a rating of 145.No other horse has ever achieved a better rating than this on the flat. What made Sea Bird II a true champion? Even if his Timeform rating of 145 is ignored,he still quite literally destroyed horses that had either already achieved greatness or subsequently went on to greatness after he had soundly thrashed them.He was simply the best of the very best.