'What I saw was a virtuoso performance from a superstar'.

1 Sea-Bird ..................6-5f 2 Reliance ....................9-2 3 Diatome ..................15-2 Owner/breeder Jean Ternynck Trainer Etienne Pollet Jockey Pat Glennon Distances 6l, 5l IHAVE to confess that I was not totally convinced of Sea-Bird's greatness when he won the Derby. It was a fact that he had won with astonishing ease - still cantering when he took command a furlong and a half out, just pushed out for a few strides to open a four-length lead, then back on the bridle and being eased down in the last 50 yards. He could hardly have given a more visually impressive display.

But just how good were the 21 he beat? That was what I was asking myself on the journey home from Epsom.

It had long been common knowledge that the runner-up, Meadow Court, was reckoned to be only the third- or fourth-best three-year-old in Paddy Prendergast's stable. He was certainly inferior to Hardicanute and Prominer, and probably not quite as good as Carlemont.

The son of Court Harwell might not even have been in the Derby field, if that trio had not all been laid low by a cough; he had been beaten by Ballymarais in the Dante.

But I soon learned the error of my ways. Meadow Court, a significant improver, went on to win the Irish Derby readily by a couple of lengths, then trounced the best English older horses in the King George. In between those races, Sea-Bird himself cantered over his seniors in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.

There was now no doubting that the Dan Cupid colt, who had already been sold for stud duty in Kentucky, was a racehorse of quite extraordinary class, and there would be only one more chance to see him in action. He was having a three-month break, then would sign off in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

And as summer ebbed away, it became clear that Europe's greatest autumn event had the makings of a very special occasion. Along with the winners of the English and Irish Derbys, it was going to feature the still-undefeated Reliance, successful in the equivalent French Classic, plus America's best three-year-old, the Preakness hero Tom Rolfe, who had won four major stakes in a row since his second in the Belmont, and was evidently as proficient on turf as dirt.

Also due to represent the Classic generation from the home team were the winners of the Prix Noailles and Grand Prix de Vichy, Diatome and Carvin, and the leading filly Blabla, heroine of the Prix de Diane.

Among the older horses were Oncidium and Soderini, leaders of the four-year-old division in England, the Prix Ganay winner Free Ride, and the 1964 Russian Derby victor Anilin, unbeaten in his homeland, and placed behind Kelso in the Washington International. There was also Demi Deuil, who had recently trotted up in the Grosser Preis von Baden - and he was reckoned to be just a minor player.

This was a prospect that had to fire the imagination of any racing enthusiast, and in the case of one young man who had never set foot out of England, it called for unprecedented action. Acquiring a passport was the first step, booking berths for the sleeping car from Victoria to the Gare du Nord and back, the second.

DID anyone ever have a more exciting first trip abroad? I doubt it. My vantage point for the race was a perch on a wall at the back of the old stand, and what I witnessed from that precarious position was a sight I knew I would never forget.

Anilin assumed command from the Italian Marco Visconti at the entrance to the straight, with Tom Rolfe, Meadow Court, Sea-Bird and Reliance all in promising positions from which to launch their efforts. Marco Visconti was soon beaten, Meadow Court's brief run petered out, and the Russian and the American were promptly swallowed up by Sea-Bird and Reliance, the pair drawing clear for what many supposed would become a battle royal all the way to the line.

Not a bit of it. One moment there were two stretching clear of their rivals, the next, there was one out on his own. Reliance was trouncing a field of top international quality, but was himself being made to look ordinary by a colt who was surely the wonder of his age, perhaps of all the ages.

The margins were six lengths and five, with Diatome third, while Free Ride passed Tom Rolfe and Anilin late to claim fourth place. I had gone to Paris attracted by the most distinguished cast ever assembled for the Arc. What I saw was a virtuoso performance from a superstar.

There was no doubting Sea-Bird's exceptional merit after that. But, just by way of confirmation, over the next six weeks Anilin won the Preis von Europa by four lengths, Diatome and Carvin finished one-two in the Washington International, and Demi Deuil triumphed by seven lengths in the Premio Roma.

With his Arc display, Sea-Bird set the standard by which all subsequent thoroughbreds have been judged. I'm still waiting to see his equal.

Tomorrow: John Randall on Mill Reef

CAPTION(S):

The magnificent Sea-Bird, under Pat Glennon, pulls right away from Reliance to win easily