Blue Point a cut above
Godolphin's juvenile found Mehmas only a neck too good at Goodwood but proved he was a class above this field as he ran away with a highly competitive renewal of the Gimcrack
BLUE POINT made amends for a narrow defeat at Glorious Goodwood when running out an emphatic winner of the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Gimcrack Stakes at York.
Pipped by Mehmas in the Richmond Stakes, the Charlie Appleby-trained juvenile pulverised the opposition in the Group Two contest and has now won three of his four starts.
Grey Britain and Medici Banchiere showed plenty of speed, but the Godolphin-owned Blue Point was always travelling beautifully and once he hit the front the race was over.
Blue Point (11-8 favourite) came home three lengths clear from Mokarris. The Last Lion was a length and three-quarters away in third.
Jockey William Buick was completing a hat-trick, having taken the two previous races with Scottish and Wall Of Fire, and said: "That was a very good performance, he got a lead for a little bit but his cruising speed is so high it's hard to get a lead for as long as you want.
"He's one of the best two-year-olds I've ridden. He's doing everything right at the moment, he's not put a foot wrong.
"I can't see why an extra furlong wouldn't suit, but he has so much pace.
"Either way, he's very exciting."
Appleby said: "That was most impressive and I think the logical thing to do is to go straight to the Middle Park, but we'll get him back home and have a chat.
"At this stage he looks all speed. It would be great if he stayed a mile, but at this stage it looks like he's going to be a sprinter.
"Unfortunately he learned very little in his first two runs.
"Willie Ryan rides him at home and has done a great job. He's always been very impressed by him and when he likes one they are usually pretty good."
Godolphin's racing manager John Ferguson added: "He ran very well at Goodwood, he was beaten by a horse with a huge amount of experience.
"What you want to see with these two-year-olds is real progression and that's what we saw today.
"William was able to settle him and when he asked the question he showed what he is capable of. It was an impressive performance and all credit to the team for producing him like that today. He's very adaptable.
"I think it's early days. During the course of the next few months we can work out where we go. Sheikh Mohammed enjoys making those decisions and you need good horses to make those decisions."
