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CHAMPIONS DAY
British Champions Day: Blue Point given entry in £600,000 Champion Sprint Stakes
The Godolphin-owned colt won the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot in June
BLUE POINT has a tilt at the British Champion Sprint Stakes on his agenda in October.
The Godolphin-owned colt won the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot and will return to the scene of his biggest win on QIPCO British Champions Day.
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The son of Shamardal ran down the top speedster Battaash to win the 5f Group 1, taking his record at the track to three wins from four starts.
He also holds the 6f course record at Ascot and will run in the Nunthorpe Stakes at York later this month before heading to Champions Day.
Trainer Charlie Appleby said: "We’re going to drop back to five first off and head for the Nunthorpe at York but at the end of the day he held the track record over six furlongs at Ascot as well so it’s a course that he seems to bring his ‘A’ game to, whether it be five or six furlongs.
"For sure, depending on how he goes in the Nunthorpe, he’s going to be a horse that’ll be heading towards QIPCO British Champions Day."
British Champions Day fact file
- The winners of 77 Group 1s and 16 European Classics hold entries for British Champions Day
- It is the most expensive day in the British racing calendar with £4.35m in prize money
- Four of the world’s top six rated horses entered, including joint highest-rated horse in world, Poet’s Word
- Entries include top-rated three-year-old in Europe, Alpha Centauri, and leading sprinter Battaash
He could clash with Battaash at York and at Ascot, with Charlie Hills' sprinter entered for the Champion Sprint Stakes.
Also in contention is Clive Cox's Harry Angel, who suffered an injury when fluffing the start in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Cox said: "He obviously had a hold-up after Ascot and it’s very much day-by-day with him. The aim is for him to be ready for the Haydock Sprint Cup and we’ll see how that goes first.
“We ran him on QIPCO British Champions Day last year, even though the ground was softer than ideal for him, and a horse like him has to be entered in a race of the calibre of the QIPCO British Champions Sprint again.
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"It’s a meeting you want to be involved at, a very special day, an occasion to savour and always a fitting finale to the season.”
Librisa Breeze, who recently ran fourth in a Group 1 in France, won the race last season for Dean Ivory and will likely be back to defend his title in October.
Ivory said: “The race will be a major target again at the end of the season.
“For Librisa Breeze to finally win us a Group 1 last year was very special and it would be nice if we could get another one with him.”
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Another previous winner of the Group 1 in The Tin Man will also take his place in the field for the £600,000 race.
Trainer James Fanshawe said: “The QIPCO British Champions Sprint is a race we’ve run The Tin Man in for the last three years and he has always run well in it, so we’ll definitely be looking at running him in it again.
"He seems to be as good as ever this season and, as he likes his races spaced out, we’ll have a think about the various options for him.”
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