Kieren Fallon has admitted that he believes Ballydoyle’s Rip Van Winkle is the only horse capable of lowering the colours of dual-Classic winning hero, Sea The Stars.

Aidan O’Brien’s colt has faced the exceptional son of Cape Cross on three occasions, coming out and the wrong end of the battle on all of the occasions.  However, Rip Van Winkle made Sea The Stars work harder than ever before when chasing him home in last month’s Coral Eclipse at Sandown and the Galileo colt rewarded the high regard his jockey Johnny Murtagh holds him in when he was an emphatic winner of the Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.

Kieren Fallon, who has got racing fans thrilled at the thought of him returning to the saddle next month, is convinced that Rip Van Winkle is the one horse who could really challenge Sea The Stars:  "From a jockeys' point of view I believe he hasn't been severely tested yet. I know Johnny feels he would have ridden Rip Van Winkle differently if the Guineas was run again.

"Aidan O'Brien's colt has finished behind Sea The Stars on three occasions this season, but I believe he is the only one who could lower the colours of John Oxx's star."

If Rip Van Winkle does get another shot at this year’s champion colt, the jockey has no doubt about what tactics Johnny Murtagh should employ.

"I would strike for home first. Look how positive Johnny was in the Sussex, when we saw the real Rip Van Winkle. I would have kicked before Mick did. Sea The Stars has proved that when he gets first run, nothing can catch him, but we haven't seen him put under pressure."

Should the weather permit, Sea The Stars remains on track for Tuesday’s eagerly-awaited Juddmonte International at York, where he will take on Rip Van Winkle’s stablemate, Mastercraftsman – the sensational Irish 2000 Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes winner.

Sea The Stars has already conquered Mastercraftsman once and Fallon continued: "Although Aidan is a master at improving horses, so is Oxx and I can't see the tables being turned."

Sea The Stars is currently available at 1.67 on Betfair, with Mastercraftsman at 3.35 for next week’s Group 1 from York.