7 minute read
Pointing forwards
Pointing forwards
Blue Point winning at Royal Ascot
TO BREED A ROYAL ASCOT winner is the dream, and ambition, of many but to breed one that writes himself a special place in the annals of the Royal meeting ventures beyond the realm of dreams and edges towards fantasy.
For Linda and Reddy Coffey, and Linda’s parents Claire and Pat Fitzsimons, it is no dream but flesh and blood reality in the shape of Blue Point, the son of Shamardal they bred and who, this year, won the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee and King’s Stand Stakes, in the space of five majestic June days.
It was a second success in the 5f contest for the five-year-old who was subsequently retired to stand alongside his sire at Darley’s Kildangan Stud for 2020.
Blue Point also won the Group 1 Al Quoz Stakes at Meydan on Dubai World Cup night in March and demonstrated top class form throughout his career, which included placings in the Group 1 Middle Park and Dewhurst Stakes at two, and in the Commonwealth Cup, Haydock Sprint Cup and Nunthorpe Stakes during his career.
For many, the accolade horse of a lifetime is awarded too easily but, when Reddy Coffey describes Blue Point as just that, it is no overstatement.
“Blue Point is an amazing horse; he’s been the horse of a lifetime – to even breed one like him is amazing,” says his adoring breeder. “We’ve knocked some sport out of it, we had a barbeque at home on the Saturday of Royal Ascot and everyone came round to
The Oak Lodge Bloodstock-bred Blue Point wins the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes, doubling up at Royal Ascot 2019 after success five days earlier in the Group 1 Kings’ Stand Stakes. Reddy Coffey admits that Oak Lodge got “plenty of sport” out of the two wins with a gathering at the stud to watch the first success and a BBQ for Diamond Jubilee day watch him win the King’s Stand this year,” he remarks of the joy brought by breeding a superstar.
Blue Point came into being because of his dam’s success with sons of Giant’s Causeway, a stallion and sire line in which Coffey and his wife Linda believe strongly.
Scarlett Rose, Blue Point’s dam, had already produced the Group 2 Railway Stakes winner to Footstepsinthesand so Shamardal was a logical choice for the daughter of Royal Applause.
Coffey explains: “Shamardal being another son of Giant’s Causeway was the initial attraction. Also Shamardal is a big, physical horse and the mare needs a stallion like that, but the main thing was Giant’s Causeway.
“We’ve bred three Group winners by Giant’s Causeway line sires so we are big fans of him and his son. We usually have a mare to go to Footsteps every year; he is a good sire and has been lucky for us.”
They hope to have a couple of mares in Blue Point’s first book as well as continuing to support other Giant’s Causeway line sires, in particular Footstepsinthesand.
“We have a home-bred colt by Footstepsinthesand going to Goffs November Foal Sale this month – Lot 318 is a colt out of Tartan Blue, a winning Kyllachy mare who has bred a winner with her first runner,” he says.
Blue Point himself was a particular standout as a foal for the calm, unflustered nature he possessed. An easy foal to care for, he was not bothered by the necessary interventions of life, nor did he cause his breeders a moment’s worry. The ideal foal in every way.
Scarlett Rose has a yearling Invincible Spirit filly bred in partnership with the Irish National Stud, whose share the family bought out at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.
“It is exciting to have his half-sister to come back to the farm after her racing career,” says Coffey. “Scarlett Rose has no foal at foot because the Invincible Spirit filly was a late foal so we gave her the year off and she is in-foal to Frankel.
“My wife Linda is huge on pedigrees and what stallions to use on the mares and we all sit down and go through it, she was adamant about using Shamardal and we looked at them all.
“We went to Frankel because he is an exciting horse and he puts a bit of staying power into them, too,” he adds.
Reddy Coffey at Tattersalls
The broodmare band of 14 is one that is constantly changing as Coffey looks to upgrade the mares, but with the dam of a Group 1 winner amongst them and his halfsister by a leading global sire to one day join the Springfield House mares, there is plenty to be excited about.
“I love old pedigrees,” he smiles. “We have a Woodman mare at home Lough Mewin, and there aren’t too many of them around, but you have to keep it fresh too. Shamardal looks like he is a good broodmare sire as Giant’s Causeway is, but it’s not easy to buy good mares.”
They are offering two fillies with the pedigrees and potential to be just that at Goffs Breeding Stock Sale.
First up is Lot 1029, a three-yearold daughter of Speightstown, inbred 3x3 to the great Storm Cat and a half-sister to Grade 2 San Clemente Handicap winner, Istanford. She is followed by Lot 1030, a three-year-old Born To Sea half-sister to Group 2 Coventry Stakes winner and sire Rajasinghe.
“The Speightstown filly is a real good-looking filly and is a half to a stakes filly and to another who has produced stakes horses.
“We have a filly called Le Freak who is a half-sister to Rajasinghe, she is a nice filly and is also a half to another stakes horse, the Listedplaced Kheleyf filly Kurland.”
STALLIONS HAVE BEEN part of the stud’s repertoire over the years since Oak Lodge was founded by Pat and Claire Fitzsimons in 1980.
Val Royal stood a number of seasons at the farm and the couple bred his dual Classic hero Cockney Rebel during his time at the farm. He was succeeded by Heliostatic, winner of the Group 3 Meld Stakes and a year older full-brother to Soldier Of Fortune. Heliostatic is now plying his trade successfully in Argentina.
The team has been on the look-out for the right stallion over the last few years and, after waiting patiently, has found the right one in Group 1 Prix Morny winner Unfortunately. The son of ill-fated Society Rock has had one season at Cheveley Park Stud under his belt and Coffey was a fan of the sire before the opportunity to stand him came along, sending three mares to the stallion in his first season.
The trio is made up of Miss Fay, a winning half-sister to the Grade 3 winner and Grade 1-placed Queen Of The Sand. She is carrying her first foal by Unfortunately, as is Barbieri, a winning daughter of Encosta Da Lago, and the dam of three winners so far. The third member of the three is Puppet Theatre, a Pivotal mare and half-sister to Listed winner Emboss.
Coffey added a fourth in-foal mare to the farm’s broodmare band with the purchase of Designated at last summer’s Tattersalls July Sale. She is a Dutch Art mare out of a full-sister to Group 1 Lockinge and Sun Chariot Stakes winner Peeress.
His enthusiasm for Unfortunately is plain to see and hear when he speaks of the young sire and the potential he possesses.
“He is a cracking-looking horse with a good step to him; he won a Group 1 as a twoyear-old and when people come to see him they love him.
"He is such an athlete, a real good-moving horse with a great temperament and he is 16hh, a fine horse,” is his effusive assessment of Unfortunately, whose racing career also took in victories in the Group 2 Prix Robert Papin and the Group 3 Renaissance Stakes, his swan-song a victory over American Pharoah’s younger brother.
The move to Tipperary and Springfield House Stud is born of a long relationship between Cheveley Park Stud and the Coffey and Fitzsimon families’ properties.
Cheveley Park Stud boards the mares who visit Irish stallions at the farm, where they usually reside for two months, before returning to Newmarket in-foal.
Coffey reveals that the venture is a partnership between the two studs with Cheveley Park Stud continuing its strong support of the young sire at his new Tipperary base.
“Cheveley is supporting him strongly, they sent 20 mares to him this year and will send 20 mares to him next year,” states Coffey.
“They are big believers in the horse. We’ll send about ten of our mares to him as well, and if people come to see him they are going to love him. He has let down into a fine horse.”
A handful of those Cheveley Park Stud mares are for sale at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale and the quality of the pedigrees on offer is of a high standard.
Effusive (Lot 1484) is a daughter of Starspangledbanner out of Thrill, a full-sister to Infallible, the dam of this season’s Group 1 Falmouth Stakes winner Veracious from
“It is a very exciting time, we have always been on the lookout for the right one and I think we have found the right one in Unfortunately the family of Garswood.
Postulant (Lot 1699) is a full-sister to the Group 2 winners Supplicant and Penitent and has produced fillies by Dutch Art, Lethal Force and Ulysses so far.
“Society Rock is a loss, let’s call it as it is. A lot of people in Ireland have bred good horses by Society Rock so hopefully they will use Unfortunately.
“I talked to Karl Burke about him and he loved him, he has a breeding right in him so he will send two mares over to him.
“It’s great when the trainer backs you. I can’t emphasise how excited I am about Unfortunately – to have a horse who has won a Group 1 and is a good looker as well, he ticks all the boxes.”
Unfortunately has moved to Oak Lodge for 2020: Cheveley Park Stud is continuing its support and has plans to send 20 mares to the son of Society Rock
Unfortunately
