Born To Sea in at the deep end Three years ago the QIPCO 2000 Guineas saw a then-unheralded Sea The Stars roar into the spotlight for the first time. He went on to win a further five races at the highest level, including the Derby and the Arc, and his half-brother Born To Sea has a similar profile. He is trained by John Oxx and won a Listed race on his debut, and although beaten in a Group Three on his only other start he returned lame. Johnny Murtagh will be doing the steering and said: "John Oxx has been very happy with how all of his preparations have gone. I had a sit on him the other day and he felt in really good shape. "Everything has gone to plan at home and it's now just a question of going out there and finding out how good he is. "If he's half as good as his brother I'll be happy. "I'm not sure how soft the ground is going to be in Newmarket by Saturday, we'll just have to see what happens. "This horse has plenty of speed and I'm not sure if he'd be suited by it if it's a slog. Saturday will tell all. "It's a very open race. I suppose if there is cut in the ground, that will help the favourite." Quietly spoken Oxx has never been one to over-face his horses and the fact he is even running the lightly-raced colt suggests he should be taken seriously. "He was lame 10 or 15 minutes after his last run and he had torn a muscle at the top of his quarters," Oxx told At The Races. "I wasn't happy with him in the straight that day as he didn't seem to be pushing himself out, so when we found out he was lame, that explained everything. "He still ran a good race and was beaten by a good horse on the day, but he wasn't able to show his best, so we didn't learn anything from it and we're a little bit in the dark with him. "We know he has a good bit of ability, but we don't know how much. "He's an idle home worker and holds back plenty for himself, so we'll just have to wait and see now. We're throwing him in at the deep end and it's going to be a big test for him, but we have to find out. "He's got some similarities with Sea The Stars. He's a bay with black points and there is no white on him. "He's a very good mover, a beautiful walker and very correct. He's quite well grown, too. He's not as lengthy as Sea The Stars but he's very energetic like he was and takes plenty of work to burn off his energy and keep him quiet. "He has the look of a miler to me. Invincible Spirit is not noted for getting good horses that stay much further than that - I can't remember any decent winner by him over a mile and a half. "I wouldn't look on him as a Derby contender. If he could run well in the Guineas he'd stick at a mile and maybe later on he'd be able to stretch out a bit."
