Blue Point gets green light for tilt at July Cup

William Buick lets out a roar after Blue Point had won the King’s Stand. Picture: Racingfotos.com

Charlie Appleby has issued an upbeat bulletin on Blue Point and confirmed the King’s Stand Stakes winner will attempt to follow up in the Darley July Cup at Newmarket on July 14.

Blue Point is one of 31 horses to stand their ground following the latest scratching stage for this £500,000 six-furlong showpiece, which forms part of the 35-race QIPCO British Champions Series.

The trainer said on Wednesday: “Blue Point has come out of the King’s Stand Stakes very well and the plan is for him to head straight for the Darley July Cup.

“He will be stepping back up to six furlongs but a stiff six is well within his compass – he holds the Ascot track record at that trip, don’t forget, and he was placed in a Dewhurst Stakes over seven furlongs as a two-year-old.”

“To win the Darley July Cup with him would be huge – not just because we sponsor the race, it’s also a great race for making stallions, one of the summer spectacles that you really want to be part of, and one that usually decides who is going to be champion sprinter.”

He added: “Winning the King’s Stand was a bigger achievement than some people realise, given what had happened to Blue Point on his two previous visits to a racecourse.”

“He banged his head on the stalls and had a trickle of blood coming out of his nostril so had to be withdrawn at Meydan on Dubai World Cup night and then we got caught out trying to take on the Hong Kong sprinters at their own game. But I am a big believer that horses learn from experiences like that.”

“He’s a very clean-winded horse who did very little between Hong Kong and Ascot so we will stick to the same programme and just try to keep him fresh, happy and well as he doesn’t need to do anything more prior to the Darley July Cup.”