Wathnan Racing’s Kind Of Blue triumphed in the Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes (Group 1) at Ascot on Saturday. The three-year-old colt, trained by James Fanshawe, delivered a career-best performance in the six-furlong dash, securing a decisive victory under jockey James Doyle.
After finishing second in the Gr1 Haydock Sprint Cup, Kind Of Blue was purchased by Wathnan Racing and repaid their faith with this emphatic win. He showed great determination, holding off a strong challenge from Swingalong to win by a head, with Flora of Bermuda finishing third.
Twenty of the leading sprinters lined up in this end-of-season showdown. Under Doyle, Kind Of Blue sat towards the centre of track around mid-way down the back. As they approached the half-way point, Doyle let his mount ease wide to get space and let the colt use his big action to the best of his ability. He hit the front line with just under two furlongs to run, still travelling strongly under a confident Doyle. There was still all to race for in the final furlong, but Kind Of Blue showed great determination to hold on to his lead to the line, winning by a head in front of Swingalong, with Flora of Bermuda a next further back in third.
Jockey Doyle praised the colt’s improvement, crediting trainer Fanshawe and the Wathnan Racing team for their efforts. “He’s improved with every race and there’s no better man than James Fanshawe to prepare a Champion Sprint winner here! There is a superb team at Wathnan Racing, including Richard Brown who has sourced these horses. We’ve had a few near misses in big races this season, so to win an important Group 1 like this is fantastic,” he said.
Kind Of Blue, bred by Michelle Morris and Jan & Peter Hopper, comes from a strong bloodline, being a half-brother to The Tin Man, who also won this race in 2016.