Blue Point (Ire)

Last term's G1 Sun Chariot Stakes runner-up Blue Bolt (Blue Point), a rare Juddmonte purchase, is back on the path into elite-level company after breaking Andrew Balding's duck at this year's Royal Ascot meeting with a dominant performance in the latter stages of Wednesday's G2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes. "This has been the plan since she ran so well in the Sun Chariot at the end of last year," said Balding. "Barring her first start at Southwell, she has never run a bad race and we've had this in our...

Charlie Appleby trainee Inner City Blues (Blue Point), who was Godolphin's sole purchase during this year's breeze-up season, was making his third pass through a sales ring when becoming the €900,000 top-priced colt at last month's Arqana Breeze-Up sale, having previously sold for €180,000 as a Goffs November foal and 375,000gns as a Tattersalls Book 1 yearling. The grandson of G3 Prix Eclipse victrix Souvenir Delondres (Siyouni) was all at sea during the initial stages of Saturday's Tomahawk Restaurants Supporting Macmillan EBF Maiden at York, but delivered a knockout blow...

Having shaped with real promise at The Curragh last month, Al Shira'aa Racing's Folsom Blues (Blue Point) showed more of his raw material to become a TDN Rising Star, Presented by Hagyard at Gowran on Friday. Sent off the heavily-supported 4-9 favourite for the seven-furlong maiden won by the fellow Joseph O'Brien-trained subsequent Moyglare Stud Stakes heroine Intricately in 2016, Al Shira'aa Racing's homebred made all for a power-packed 7 1/2-length success. "He's a lovely horse who shows plenty at home and the key was to get him to relax...

Joining the growing brigade of exciting two-year-olds under the Wathnan Racing banner, Royal Heritage (Blue Point) made his own statement on debut at Hamilton on Wednesday evening. Sent off the 30-100 favourite for the six-furlong maiden, the €800,000 Arqana May Breeze-Up purchase who holds an entry in Tuesday's Coventry was able to easily overcome a slow start and cruise to the fore two out. Sent clear under hands and heels by James Doyle, the Hamad Al Jehani-trained half-brother to the useful handicapper Lattam (Lope De Vega) asserted for a 2...

Shadwell's Elmonjed (Blue Point) bounced back off an unplaced effort at Newmarket's Craven meet and completed an afternoon double for William Haggas with a career high in Wednesday's G2 Go Local Stores Minster Stakes, formerly known as the Duke Of York Stakes, at York. "He really loves this track and I think the draw helped today," commented Haggas. "He's a really tough horse, he's gone from handicaps and won the Listed in September. We kept him in training to win this race as we thought we may as well have...

Completing an early Saturday afternoon treble for the Andrew Balding stable, Juddmonte's Blue Bolt (Blue Point) made a winning start to a potentially fruitful campaign in Goodwood's Listed Conqueror Fillies' Stakes. Last seen finishing runner-up to the unstoppable Fallen Angel in Newmarket's Sun Chariot in October, the Listed Sandown Distaff winner had to fight for Colin Keane with the long-absent Kon Tiki (Night Of Thunder) in determined mood but managed to thrust in front close home for a 3/4-of-a-length success. The returning Poule d'Essai des Pouliches second Shes Perfect (Sioux...

Saturday's two-year-old maiden at Navan boasted Charles Darwin, Camille Pissarro, River Tiber and Aesop's Fables as it's last four winners and the latest renewal taken by Tribeca (Blue Point) will be worth further study. "He's a nice horse. He's still babyish, he's still green and I don't know how quick he is yet," trainer Robson De Aguiar said. "He's an end-of-April foal and he has a lot to improve. A big, strong horse and I'd say he has a bright future. He has a very good mentality for a Blue...

Francis Graffard representative Samangan (Blue Point), fresh off a stakes breakthrough in last month's G3 Prix Eclipse, went postward as the prohibitively priced 1-5 favourite for Saturday's G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte and never gave connections a moment's worry with a stylish victory in the six-furlong contest. The Aga Khan Studs homebred stalked the pace in third from flagfall. Making smooth progress once past halfway, he eased to the front approaching the final furlong and was pushed out in the closing stages to easily account for Street Show (Showcasing) by 2...

Turf distaffers trained by Chad Brown had taken the seven most recent renewals of the GI First Lady Stakes at Keeneland, and the New York native looked to have a fair chance to extend that streak in the Bluegrass on Saturday afternoon. But it was Colebrook Farm's Simply in Front (Summer Front) split rivals inside the final eighth of a mile and found the line first to cause a 13-1 upset in a bunched finish and snap the Brown domination, however temporarily. The mount of Ben Curtis, the $115,000 Keeneland...

Aga Khan Studs representative Samangan shed maiden status with an impressive wide-margin triumph at Deauville towards the end of last month and continued on the upgrade with a black-type breakthrough in Saturday's G3 Prix Eclipse Fonds Europeen de l'Elevage at Chantilly. "He broke slowly and therefore put himself in trouble from the start," reflected trainer Francis Graffard. "He was never really travelling smoothly and didn't look like a winner at halfway. Maybe the [soft] ground is the reason, but I don't know. When he started finding his best stride, the...

4th-Newbury, £12,000, Mdn, 8-28, 2yo, f, 6fT, 1:13.80, gd. IMPERIAL BALLET (GB) (f, 2, Blue Point {Ire}--Osipova {GB}, by Makfi {GB}), sent off at 5-1, travelled strongly towards the fore from the outset. Taking control passing two out, the homebred powered to the line for an impressive 3 1/2-length success from Khafar (Dubawi). The dam, whose first foal was the G3 Solario Stakes winner Positive (Dutch Art), is a half to that sire's G3 Sovereign Stakes scorer Zonderland who was placed three times at Group 2 level. A granddaughter of...

Capping a golden mid-Sunday-afternoon hour that Tony Bloom and Ian McAleavy will forever cherish, Sky Majesty (Blue Point) followed the exploits of their star juvenile Venetian Sun at Deauville with her own power play in Sunday's G3 Tally-Ho Stud Irish EBF Ballyogan Stakes at Naas. Last year's G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte and G3 Firth of Clyde winner, who had prepped with a course-and-distance win in last month's Listed Yeomanstown Stud Irish EBF Stakes, showed how much she had improved in the interim tackling a deeper contest. Always travelling easily under...