Blue Point regrouped and ready for Chairman's Sprint Prize

HONG KONG – About 12 hours after he was withdrawn from the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan Racecourse on March 31 because of blood in a nostril, Blue Point was back in action at trainer Charlie Appleby’s base in Dubai.

Blue Point was favored to win the $1 million Al Quoz Sprint and was scratched behind the gate at seemingly the last minute. The setback has resulted in Blue Point being sent to Hong Kong for Sunday’s Group 1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize at six furlongs on turf.

Appleby said on Friday there was no cause for concern about Blue Point’s long-term condition when the blood was detected. He considered the incident to be isolated.

“It was very minor,” Appleby said. “He went back into training the following day.”

Appleby considers Blue Point a leading contender for the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot in England on June 23. Blue Point has not started since finishing a game second in the Meydan Sprint in Dubai on Feb. 22 and needs a springtime race to stay on schedule for the Diamond Jubilee.

“I didn’t want to wait with a horse in peak fitness,” Appleby said. “We were keen to come here. It might work in his favor.”

Owned by Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin Racing, Blue Point remained in Dubai through April while many of the Appleby-trained horses were sent to England for the start of the turf season in that country. Appleby visited his Dubai string last week and said Blue Point had a sharp workout.

“I was in Dubai before he shipped,” he said. “I’m pleased with him. I saw him do a bit of work.”

Appleby, 42, recorded his second win in the United States last fall when Wuheida won the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar. In 2013, the Appleby-trained Outstrip won the BC Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita. At Meydan on March 31, Appleby won two Group 1 races – the $6 million Sheema Classic with Hawkbill and the Al Quoz with second-string runner Jungle Cat.

The Chairman’s Sprint Prize is run at six furlongs on a right-handed track and has a field of nine, including five locally based runners trained by John Size, who is at the top of the Hong Kong trainers’ standings. Size starts the first two choices in the betting – Mr Stunning and Beat the Clock.

Blue Point has shown sufficient improvement since the Meydan Sprint to give Appleby confidence the 4-year-old Irish-bred colt is capable of winning.

“Physically and mentally, he’s come along better from that,” Appleby said. “He’s the best sprinter I’ve dealt with. The track will suit him, and the ground will suit him.”

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