Group 1 British Champions Sprint winner Kind Of Blue, the highest-rated sprinter by Blue Point, has been retired to stud.  Europe’s Champion three-year-old sprinter, who was officially rated the equal of his sire at three, is being syndicated to stand at Newsells Park Stud, with Newsells Park and Wathnan Racing as the majority shareholders.  His fee will be £8,000 (Oct 1st, SLF terms). 

Kind Of Blue’s triumph at Britain’s showpiece autumn championship, defeating seven previous Group 1 winners, was the fulfilment of a family destiny.  Two siblings to Kind Of Blue’s dam – Deacon Blues and The Tin Man – both won the British Champions Sprint, while no fewer than five of Blue Point’s 11 victories came at Ascot.  Victory at Ascot earned Kind Of Blue the acclaim of Timeform:  ‘He has already achieved more at the age of three than his two “uncles” – who didn’t win the Champions Sprint until they were four – or for that matter his sire, who peaked at five.’ He was Timeform-rated 122.

Trained like the rest of the family by James Fanshawe, and initially campaigned for his breeders Mike and Michelle Morris and Jan and Peter Hopper, Kind Of Blue sped through two swift victories in novice company before being pitched into the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup in just his third start, barely two months after his first. He ran well to be fourth, coincidentally bettering the time recorded by Blue Point when he was third in the race in his year. Kind Of Blue prepped for his Group 1 victory with a narrow Group 1 defeat, only headed close home, in the Sprint Cup at Haydock, a race he was also second in the following season. All told, Kind Of Blue beat 18 Group 1 winners, including fellow young stallions Inisherin, Sajir, Mill Stream, Big Mojo, plus Elite Status.

Trainer James Fanshawe has had Kind Of Blue’s family in his yard as long as he has been training. “Excellent news that Kind Of Blue is going to stand at Newsells Park Stud,” he says. “Kind Of Blue picked up an injury as a yearling and didn’t come into training until the middle of his two-year-old season. But he was always more mentally and physically developed than the rest of the family – that’s the Blue Point in him.  He was always so mature-looking and we entered him for the Commonwealth Cup before he’d even run. We chucked him in the deep end and he never looked back. I’m sure that anyone who goes to see him will be impressed by his power and tremendous athleticism.”

Kind Of Blue gave Wathnan Racing’s retained jockey, James Doyle – who also rode Blue Point – a first Group 1 in their old gold and peacock blue silks. “Kind Of Blue is a proper Blue Point,” he says, “Strong, compact and all speed. He was always straightforward and honest to ride, and he has the physique and temperament I’d want in a sprint stallion. Winning the Champions Sprint at three shows how good he was early.”

Extraordinarily for a sprinter, Kind Of Blue’s pedigree is free of key speed influences Danzig and Scat Daddy; Dubawi and Galileo are also entirely absent. “Kind Of Blue is a great outcross for breeders – a different shade of speed,” says Julian Dollar, General Manager at Newsells Park Stud. “We’re thrilled to be standing him. A Champion Group 1-winning sprinter at three, and a son of the brilliant Blue Point – he’s got so much going for him, and he’s a hugely exciting stallion to secure for British breeders. He’s so imposing, too – we can’t wait to show him off.  We’re very grateful to Wathnan Racing for trusting us to stand Kind Of Blue at Newsells Park and look forward to supporting him strongly.”

Richard Brown, racing adviser to Wathnan, says, “Kind Of Blue sealed Wathnan’s love-affair with Ascot with his Champions Sprint win. It was a mighty achievement for a three-year-old – he absolutely cruised into contention and then ran right up that hill and through the line. A great day! James Fanshawe and his team did a wonderful job with him, and full credit, too, to his breeders.  He’s a powerful animal with a real swing to him, and his long career at the top is testament to his constitution and soundness, as well as his temperament. He looks exactly what he is: a top class son of Blue Point.” For more information, and to arrange to inspect Kind Of Blue, please call Julian Dollar or Gary Coffey on +44 (0)1763 846000.