Eye-catching cover for dam of Gimcrack winner Blue Point

Scarlett Rose, the dam of last year's Gimcrack winner Blue Point, will visit Footstepsinthesand for her 2017 covering, a mating which previously resulted in another classy juvenile, Formosina.

Railway Stakes winner Formosina is one of three winners produced by the 16-year-old daughter of Royal Applause, along with Esytopolishadimond. Scarlett Rose is a half-sister to three-time Ballycorus Stakes winner Tumbleweed Ridge, who was herself runner-up in the Gimcrack Stakes.

Blue Point showed his durability as a juvenile as he hit the frame on all six starts. The son of Shamardal was narrowly defeated by Mehmas when stepping up to Group company in the July Stakes, before posting an authoritative three-length win from Mokarris in the Group 2 Gimcrack at York.

He then finished second to The Last Lion in the Middle Park Stakes and third to Churchill in the Dewhurst Stakes, both times beaten by less than two lengths.

"The Giant's Causeway line has obviously been good to Scarlett Rose," said breeder Linda Coffey on the decision to return to Footstepsinthesand. "She's still a young enough mare and has a good few years left in her.

"Scarlett Rose was barren the last few years, but she went in foal fine last year. She looks like she will foal in late April, so hopefully we can get her in foal again.

"We're looking forward to Blue Point and hoping he can keep going for the Commonwealth Cup," Coffey added. "Hopefully we will have a nice foal at foot for her when that happens as well.

"We think Blue Point's improving all the time, and that he'll probably be a better three-year-old. Hopefully he'll keep on progressing and have his day at stud. We'll definitely breed to him if that happens."

Exciting racing prospect

Coffey and her husband Reddy have another useful producer at Oak Lodge Stud in the shape of Lough Mewin, dam of Queen Of The Sand, by Footstepsinthesand, who was second in the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes at Del Mar.

Coffey noted: "Footstepsinthesand has obviously been good to us and our mares. Lough Mewin also had a Slade Power yearling colt, and a two-year-old brother with Gary Moore, so we look forward to him racing."

Lough Mewin is in foal to Kodiac and is set to visit Awtaad later this year.

Also residing at the County Kildare stud is Cassandane, a sister to Irish 1,000 Guineas third Princess Sinead. She is a five-year-old daughter of Jeremy and was sent to Group 1 producing sire Equiano at Newsells Park Stud earlier this year.

"We really like Equiano and he is well proven, so we sent a couple of mares to him. It's nice to send young mares like her to proven stallions," said Coffey. "We also have Singingintherain, the dam of Stormy Clouds who was second in the Super Sprint last year. She already produced a Sir Prancealot brother to Stormy Clouds this year and we will decide who to send her to next."