'It was probably an act of lunacy!' - Royal Ascot-inspired mating sees Battaash's Blue Point half-brother bring 1,500,000gns

Buyers showed blistering pace of their own when a Blue Point half-brother to the top-class sprinter Battaash was offered at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale on Wednesday. After the bid board dashed through six-figure territory and beyond the million mark, the colt was hammered down at 1,500,000gns.

Mark McStay, sitting at the back of the bustling auditorium, entered the fray at 750,000gns, and was joined soon after by Juddmonte’s general manager Simon Mockridge, who broke the seven-figure seal with a nod of the head delivered from against the back wall opposite the auctioneer. Just when it looked like developing into a duel between the rival camps from Juddmonte and Godolphin, the latter in their usual position by the parade ring, Saud Al Qahtani from Najd Stud lodged a play of 1,400,000gns from right beside the rostrum.

Al Qahtani’s head dropped when the spotter shouted to signal another 100,000gns raise from outside. “You just keep looking at me and bidding,” said auctioneer Simon Kerins. “We’re very intimate here!” The cheeky prompt failed to land though, and the gavel fell in favour of Sheikh Mohammed’s team at 1,500,000gns.

Bred by Paul and Marie McCartan’s Ballyphilip Stud, the colt is out of Anna Law, who cost just 14,000gns as a broodmare prospect back in 2012. As well as Battaash, whose 13 wins include four Group 1s, the mare is also responsible for his full-brother The Antarctic, winner of a pair of Group 3 prizes and runner-up to Blackbeard in the Middle Park Stakes.

Anthony Stroud: "He's an outstanding horse by a stallion who's done so well this year"Credit: Edward Whitaker

“I haven’t said it to too many people but I think he’s the nicest horse I’ve ever had anything to do with,” said Paul McCartan. “I’ve always put Battaash number one but when this colt got here everything just came together and I think he’s an absolute belter. I’m delighted Godolphin have got him and I’m delighted Charlie Appleby will be training him because, to me, he’s the image of his father and his grandfather. Charlie could see that.”

McCartan revealed it had been one of the King’s Stand Stakes clashes between Blue Point and Battaash that had inspired the mating behind this colt, which came when the son of Shamardal was in his second season at Kildangan Stud.

“It was probably an act of lunacy to take such a risk with a mare so important to us,” he said. “I probably should have been more conservative and gone with a proven horse, but I was there the day Blue Point beat Battaash in the King’s Stand. I thought Battaash was great that day but I remember Blue Point coming into the parade ring and I had one look at him, and one look at Charlie Appleby, and I said, ‘We’re not going to be winning today!’”

McCartan said watching the seven-figure colt sell was a “surreal” experience, but expressed his pride at his team’s hard work being duly rewarded.

“Everybody knows they’re the best team on the sales ground, as is my head man at home, Denis Lawlor, who never comes to the sales," he said. "Dinny McCarthy, who led the colt up, is a fantastic horseman. They’ve all done a great job. This is one of the most enjoyable parts for me, that we can all share that moment together as we’re all good friends.”

Anna Law’s progeny have now generated Tattersalls yearling receipts totalling 5,230,000gns. The lion’s share of that sum came last year when Richard Knight signed at 1,800,000gns for the mare’s Lope De Vega filly. Subsequently named Go Big Or Go Home having been picked up privately by Bond Thoroughbreds, the two-year-old has finished fourth in both outings for Bryan Smart.

There is plenty more in the pipeline too, as McCartan revealed: “Anna Law has a filly foal by Dark Angel and she’s in foal to Frankel. It’s a different approach but he’s the best stallion, probably of all time, so why not give it a roll again.”

He added: “She’s been an incredible mare for us. She started off quite a grumpy old girl but now every time she sees me in the field she knows I have a fist full of nuts for her, so we’re the best of friends now!”

Blue Point: Kildangan Stud resident has had a sensational start with his first runnersCredit: Patrick McCann

Darley’s Kildangan Stud sire Blue Point has made an immediate impact in his first season with runners. The four-time Group 1-winning sprinter is out clear at the head of the European first-season sire standings, with 39 winners putting him 14 clear of his nearest rival, Ballyhane Stud’s Soldier’s Call.

That number includes four black-type winners, most notably Rosallion, who became his sire’s first Group 1 scorer with success in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere. Blue Point is also the sire of Windsor Castle, Molecomb and Flying Childers Stakes winner Big Evs. Those exploits look set to see Blue Point’s fee rise in 2024, although this second-crop colt was conceived at €40,000 in 2021.

“He’s an outstanding horse by a stallion who’s done so well this year," said Godolphin's Anthony Stroud. "Blue Point has had so many winners, including the winner of the Lagardere just the other day. He’s looking incredibly promising, and coupled with the fact this colt is out of a mare who produced a horse like Battaash, he's a horse we thought would enhance Godolphin’s team.

"Paul McCartan has bred horses like Tiggy Wiggy and Harry Angel, among others, so it’s a great nursery and Paul does a fantastic job.”

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