In construction, the most important element following the planning stage is creating and setting good foundations to ensure a building stands the test of time – that’s exactly the story of Shamardal’s four-time G1-winning son Blue Point.
Having been foaled on the green, open pastures of County Kildare; Ireland the birthplace of immortals Street Cry and Dubawi, progressing through foal and yearling preparations, being selected for purchase as a yearling for Godolphin, Blue Point’s foundations were solid.
He unassumingly moved through his early racing education into the care of Charlie Appleby's stable where from two to five he proved himself at the highest level.
A horse who made an immediate impact on his trainer who touted him as 'a carbon copy' of Shamardal.
PERFORMANCE: Crowned Champion Sprinter, here’s how he achieved this sought-after accolade.
- The only horse in history to win three G1 sprints at Royal Ascot, England’s most prestigious racing event.
- A four-time G1 winner of 11 races, he also had six placings from his 20 starts.
- A G2 winner at two he was placed in the G1 Dewhurst and G1 Middle Park Stakes.
- After winning his maiden and second start, Blue Point only ever campaigned at Group level.
- Unbeaten in his final year, his five victories included that famous Royal Ascot double.
“His hallmark is his consistency throughout his career, from two to five,” Appleby said to the Racing Post. “Bar his maiden and his second start, a novice which he won by 11 lengths with James McDonald up that day, he’s only ever campaigned at Group level," Appleby said.
“His final start for us was quite something, achieving the G1 double at Royal Ascot in the (G1) King’s Stand and the (G1) Diamond Jubilee. I’m never going to be able to get away from that as the ultimate pinnacle of his career."
“In Australia, you can back horses up quicker and you see it quite regularly at the top level, horses backing up quite quickly. We wouldn’t see it very often here. Our style of racing is different and our tracks can be quite testing. So, for it to be achieved, especially at Group 1 level, I’m grateful we were able to witness that.”
SIRE POWER: Blue Point boasts a sireline all too familiar with Australasia’s sale rings and racetracks.
Shamardal commenced his stud career in Australia in 2005 at Kelvinside having retired mid-season in Europe following four G1 wins in the Dewhurst Stakes, St James’s Palace Stakes and the French 2000 Guineas and Derby.
“It was a great day, the day we announced Shamardal was standing on our roster,” Head of Stallions Alastair Pulford fondly recalls. “We sold 100 nominations in the day; he was basically full in 24 hours.”
Shamardal developed into a hugely successful shuttle stallion producing 27 G1 winners across every major racing nation, surprisingly bar Japan.
His record from limited crops in the Southern Hemisphere was exceptional and he had notable success in Hong Kong with the likes of Able Friend, Pakistan Star and Dan Excel.
He has now become an important sire of sires with four of his sons already having produced a further 20 G1 winners for the line. The Shamardal-line has produced the winners of the world’s most sought-after G1s: TJ Smith, Darley Sprint, Lightning Stakes, King’s Stand, Diamond Jubilee, Dewhurst, Stradbroke, the HK international Mile and the Steward's Cup to mention just a few.
A fitting measure of a stallion’s success is when their best-performed son retires to stand alongside them.
“If you wanted to have a carbon copy of a Shamardal, he is the closest you’re ever going to get to it at the moment,” Appleby told ANZ Bloodstock News from his Newmarket base in 2020.
“We were very lucky at the back end of last year (2019), we got to see Shamardal and Blue Point both opposite one another in the stallion boxes at Kildangan and it certainly was a mini-me or a younger Shamardal, basically.”
“Obviously, on the passing of Shamardal, I don’t think there’s any better horse out there that can hopefully fill his boots.”
PHYSIQUE: Anyone inspecting Blue Point will describe him as the closest match you will see to Shamardal.
Winning a Gimcrack at two and racing to five years of age being unbeaten in his final year, as a stallion prospect is truly rare in this day and age.
It requires a sound disposition complemented by physical aptitude, it requires a horse to love their work and it requires them to turn up each day unphased.
“He’s a horse very close to my heart, being there from the start, and it’s not often you get horses who impress you so much in a morning that do the same in the afternoon, but he’s never let us down. He’s been a true champion,” said Charlie Appleby to RacingTV following his retirement.
BLUE POINT: physically imposing, the image of his sire, a champion by a champion.
