Big Evs a first Group winner for electric Blue Point

Blue Point's electric start to his stallion career received a turbo-charged boost at Goodwood this afternoon with the victory of Big Evs in the Group 3 Molecomb Stakes for Michael Appleby and RP Racing Limited.

The Windsor Castle Stakes winner, the first of three horses to strike at Listed level from the debut crop of Shamardal's triple Royal Ascot hero, notched up another milestone for his sire as his victory on the rain-soaked Sussex turf is the first Group win for Darley's leading first season sire.

Blue Point's one and only visit to Goodwood came as a juvenile when he was a neck second to Mehmas in the Group 2 Richmond Stakes, before his first black type success in the Gimcrack at York.

Shamardal's four times Group 1 winner is leading the race to be crowned champion first season sire in Britain and Ireland with 19 winners from 56 runners at a winners to runners rate of 34 per cent. He is also ahead of the posse on prizemoney and stakes winners with three of those compared to single Group winners for Calyx and Phoenix Of Spain, sire of Tuesday's Goodwood juvenile Group 2 winner Haatem.

In the general two-year-old sires list for Great Britain and Ireland, Blue Point leads the race on winners and is level with No Nay Never on stakes winners. Only that horse and Kodiac head Darley's exciting stallion on prizemoney accumulated.

Prior to his mud-splattered success, Big Evs had earned a RPR of 106 and is one of two sons of Blue Point to be allotted a RPR in excess of 102, the other is Shagraan who won the Listed Rose Bowl Stakes at Newbury last month, although last Saturday's Listed Pat Eddery Stakes winner Rosallion, described by trainer Richard Hannon as potentially the best they've had in years, is on course to earn a RPR of a similar level.

Blue Point has made an electric start to his stud careerCredit: Edward Whitaker

His first Group winner has the pedigree to excel at two: bred by Rabbah Bloodstock he is out of Hana Lina who was twice placed at two and the Oasis Dream mare is a daughter of Jaber Abdullah's unbeaten European champion two-year-old filly Queen's Logic, who was victorious in the Cheveley Park, Lowther and Queen Mary Stakes for Mick Channon. 

At stud the Grand Lodge mare produced ten winners from 11 runners with the star being Lady Of The Desert who emulated her dam with victory in the Lowther, one of three Group race wins she recorded as a two-year-old. The daughter of Rahy was also placed in the Prix de l'Abbaye, Sprint Cup and Cheveley Park Stakes and her daughter of Frankel, Queen Kindly, also won the Lowther. Queen Kindly's three-year-old daughter of Dubawi failed by a neck to become the third direct descendant of Queen's Logic to win the Lowther when second to Swingalong last year.

Queen's Logic was the first Group 1 winner foaled by the Diesis mare Lagrion who went on to produce another European champion in Dylan Thomas, and he numbers two runnings of the Irish Champion Stakes, an Arc and a King George amongst his Group 1 victories. The third Group 1 winner for Lagrion was 1,000 Guineas star Homecoming Queen and she is the dam of Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes winner Shale. Lagrion also is the dam of Oaks runner-up Remember When whose son Serpentine went better than his dam and 'uncle' when running away with the Derby in 2020. Serpentine is one of four Group winners and five stakes winners in total for Remember When, including the Nassau Stakes second Wedding Vow and Oaks third Bye Bye Baby.

Big Evs was bought by Michael Cleere for 50,000gns from Houghton Bloodstock at Tattersalls Book 2 and privately purchased from Cleere by Conor Quirke prior to the breeze-up sales.

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