How good was St Mark’s Basilica in the context of Aidan O'Brien's best horses?
Timeform’s Tony McFadden and Sporting Life’s Ben Linfoot discuss the achievements of St Mark’s Basilica following his retirement.
It's easy to scoff when you hear the latest stallion prospect given a big billing but Aidan O'Brien's description of St Mark's Basilica as 'possibly the best we have ever had in Ballydoyle' is hardly outlandish.
O'Brien may be the dominant trainer of his era and has smashed a host of Group 1 records, but he's never had a horse who could be regarded as an all-time great for their exploits on the track.
Yes, Galileo has left an indelible mark on the sport through his impact at stud, but his Timeform rating of 134 identifies him as a top-class racehorse without being in the same league as, say, his half-brother Sea The Stars who achieved a rating of 140 for John Oxx.
Among O’Brien’s horses, Hawk Wing sets the standard on Timeform ratings with the figure of 136 that he earned for his ten-length success in the Lockinge Stakes as a four-year-old. That was an incredible performance from a horse who had long promised to deliver such a display, but he has hardly gone down in the pantheon of greats.
Hawk Wing is one of nine horses trained by O’Brien who earned a higher Timeform rating than St Mark's Basilica. However, it's likely that St Mark’s Basilica would have improved upon the figure of 132 he achieved for his comfortable Eclipse success had he been given more opportunities - he still had the 'p' for potential improvement attached to his rating prior to his retirement.
Calling him 'possibly the best we have ever had in Ballydoyle' may seem like a convenient soundbite before a stud career but, for those who believe actions speak louder than words, consider that St Mark's Basilica was sent off favourite for the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes while still a maiden.
He was clearly always held in the highest regard and it’s just a shame for racing fans that St Mark's Basilica's truncated three-year-old campaign coincided with the demise of Galileo and the urgent need to find a successor. (Tony McFadden)
The best of Ballydoyle, Timeform ratings
St Mark’s Basilica’s Group One wins
Darley Dewhurst Stakes, Newmarket, October 10 2020
It was on Newmarket’s Rowley Mile where St Mark’s Basilica first marked himself out as something special, his improvement showcased by the fact he reversed National Stakes form with Thunder Moon and Wembley. The Dewhurst form didn’t really work out in behind… bar 2000 Guineas and runaway St James’s Palace Stakes winner Poetic Flare trailing home in 10th.
Emirates Poule d’Essai des Poulains, ParisLongchamp, May 16 2021
Diverted to Paris instead of Newmarket in May, St Mark’s Basilica quickly proved himself the best of the Ballydoyle 3yo colts with a dominant display under Ioritz Mendizabal in the French Guineas. His rapid change of gear sealed the race in style even if subsequent events show he didn’t beat much in behind, again, apart from Poetic Flare, who ran sixth two weeks on from his Guineas win at Newmarket.
Qatar Prix du Jockey Club, Chantilly, June 6 2021
O’Brien stuck with the plan to tackle the French Derby next despite the acceleration St Mark’s Basilica had shown at Longchamp. They didn’t go quickly and Mendizabel settled him just off the leaders on the rail in a prominent position and he proved unbeatable from there. Always going well, he was able to utilise his speed to great effect given how it all panned out and he was a comfortable one-and-three-quarter length winner. His vanquished rivals hardly boosted the form subsequently – although at least fourth home Saiydabad won the G3 Prix de Prince d’Orange and sixth Pretty Tiger landed the G2 Prix Eugene Adam.
Coral-Eclipse, Sandown, July 3 2021
A first and only appearance in the UK for St Mark’s Basilica at three, his victory over Addeybb and Mishriff will likely go down as his defining performance. The two older horses had to give him 10lb on the weight-for-age and they were both reappearing on the back of two or three month breaks, as well, but neither could live with the son of Siyouni’s speed as he quickened by them up the Esher hill in the style of a top-class three-year-old. Mishriff was below his best here, but he improved from it to finish second in the King George to Adayar before his own brilliant win in the Juddmonte International at York.
Irish Champion Stakes, Leopardstown, September 11 2021
The freak gallops incident that saw St Mark’s Basilica ruled out of York had healed in time for him to be trained for Irish Champions Weekend. And for the third 10-furlong race in a row they played into the hands of SMB who won what turned out to be a sprint for the line in what was to be his final appearance. This was his toughest fight yet and he had to dig deep to see off Tarnawa and Poetic Flare, a drift to the right to repel the former looked at in a lengthy stewards’ inquiry that deemed him the fair winner. That drift to the right eventually helped make the decision to retire him, with O’Brien reporting that he pulled up sore once returned to full work.
Ben Linfoot verdict
You can’t argue with five consecutive wins at the top level spanning the end of his two-year-old career and a perfect 3yo campaign.
Yes, you can pick holes in the form, especially his French ventures, but three defeats of Poetic Flare as well as his exploits over older horses like Mishriff, Tarnawa and Addeybb mark him out as top class. As stated above, it’s just a shame that his career collided with the yearning desire to pack him off to stud as the heir apparent to Galileo, as he had all the tools to thrive as a four-year-old on the track.
Perhaps he would even have proved himself the best O’Brien had ever trained in time. As it is that’s just a maybe, a question left unanswered when it comes to the true level of his ability.
Circumstance meant he was seen just once in the UK and once in Ireland at three, French prizemoney and sire bonuses a likely factor there, but that doesn’t detract from what was a wonderfully orchestrated and executed campaign.
It’s now over to his progeny to seal his legacy.