SEA THE STARS (Cape Cross) turns 19 in January, and his fee will go to €250,000 for the 2025 covering season. This is almost three times that which he commanded when he went to stud in 2010, and the trajectory of his pricing has only been in one direction, upwards. This is unusual, even for a stallion of his quality and level of success.

Alongside the announcement that he will stand for an all-time high fee, a statement from the Aga Khan Studs said: “Sea The Stars has enjoyed another fruitful season and is currently the leading sire of three-year-olds in Europe in 2024, a crop that includes Group 1 winner Sosie and Group 2 winner and Arc runner-up Aventure. He has achieved his highest ever number of annual stakes winners this year, with 28 to date, including group-winning two-year-old The Lion In Winter, currently favourite for next year’s 2000 Guineas, and his yearlings have sold for an average of €363,000.”