We Went Back to Tattersalls and Bought Another Blue Point

We went to Tattersalls this week with an A-list of ten fillies, the ones in Book 2 we thought best fit what we’re building. Lot 689 was one of them. After studying her in person, Ben Colebrook said she was the spitting image of Randie’s Rascal, the Blue Point filly we bought here last year, only bigger. We couldn’t disagree.

We bought her on October 12 for 200,000 guineas. She’s a bay filly, also by Blue Point, out of the Harbour Watch mare Minoria, bred in Ireland by Clara Stud and foaled 16 April 2025, and she’ll ship to Kentucky to join Ben’s barn. That makes two daughters of Blue Point in the stable.

Randie’s Rascal was somewhat of an experiment. We’d bought horses in Europe before, most successfully the millionaire Living the Life (IRE), but those were horses of racing age with form we could see, and that was a long time ago. Randie’s Rascal was our first yearling import. The R in HnR stands for Randie, Hank’s wife, so the name more or less chose itself. We bought her hoping for a European-bred turf filly with enough speed to start early at two and the substance and class to make a good three-year-old.

Randie’s Rascal ran three times this spring and summer, all against colts, and improved every time out. She was third at Keeneland in April, second at Churchill Downs in May, then broke her maiden at Churchill in June, drawing off by two and a quarter lengths. A minor tendon issue has her turned out for the rest of 2026. We’re optimistic about a substantial three-year-old campaign next year, and we think she has stakes potential.

She also changed how we think about buying yearlings. What started as a one-off became part of our acquisition strategy, and it left us rather enthusiastic about Blue Point.

Apparently, we weren’t alone.

Blue Point’s yearlings have become a lot more expensive since then, and his runners have earned it. The standout is Blue Bolt, a four-year-old filly out of Mayhem, by Whipper, who’s six for six this year. She won a Listed race and the Group 2 Duke of Cambridge at Royal Ascot, then reeled off four straight Group 1s (the Falmouth, Prix Rothschild, Matron and Sun Chariot) on her way to nearly a million pounds in earnings.

What we like most is that Blue Point’s runners keep improving after two. Blue Bolt has become a dominant miler at four, and Rosallion went from a Group 1-winning two-year-old to a multiple Group 1 winner at three. While we were in Newmarket this week we visited Rosallion at Darley, where he’s now retired to stud, and he’s an impressive horse in person.

By sale week the market had caught up. Two Blue Point yearlings in Book 2 made 600,000 guineas apiece, and we didn’t expect one that met our standards to be within reach.

We went looking for one exceptional filly, wherever she turned up. Our list had daughters of Kodiac, Dark Angel, Havana Grey, Night of Thunder and No Nay Never alongside Blue Point. The profile was simple: an athletic turf filly with the speed to race early, the substance to train on, and a pedigree worth keeping. Ten fillies made the A-list, and four of them ended up among the highest-priced fillies in the entire book. Lot 689 took some spirited bidding, and given what the rest of that list brought, we’re very happy at 200,000 guineas.

The physical drew us in first. She’s well balanced, with plenty of substance and a lovely, athletic walk. Randie’s Rascal was an exceptional physical as a yearling, so Ben’s comparison meant something to us.

The pedigree held up just as well. Minoria won once in a short career and has been a far better producer than racehorse. Her Showcasing daughter It’s Showtime Baby won over five furlongs at Dundalk on April 1 of her two-year-old season, then ran third in the Group 3 Naas Juvenile Sprint, which is exactly the kind of early speed a Kentucky spring rewards. Another Showcasing daughter, Super Sox, became a two-time Listed winner at three and four and was Group 3-placed. Minoria’s Havana Grey colt Weffaag, a half-brother to our filly, won at three on September 21. The second dam, Mina, had five winners from five runners, including the Listed-winning sprinter Minalisa and the Listed-placed juvenile winner Mohi. Further back, the family runs to early speed at the highest level. Ventura Tormenta won the Group 2 Prix Robert Papin at two, Fly on the Night was champion two-year-old filly in Italy, and the fourth dam, Old Domesday Book, produced July Cup winner and champion sprinter Owington.

View her Tattersalls catalogue page →

Now add Blue Point.

Our hope is that she starts over five or five and a half furlongs at two, develops through six, and stretches toward seven as she matures. Longer term, a Blue Point daughter of a mare with two black-type fillies already has a lot to recommend her as a broodmare, more so if she earns black type herself.

We’d love to see her at Keeneland in the spring, the way Randie’s Rascal started, though Ben will decide when she’s ready and what kind of racing suits her. And if we ever find ourselves with a genuinely exceptional early two-year-old, a trip back across the Atlantic for Royal Ascot is a nice thing to think about. We’ll worry about that if we’re lucky enough to have the problem.

Yearlings are educated guesses, and we’ll learn what we actually bought once she’s home and training. Here she is in the Tattersalls sales ring.

Why European Fillies

The best surprise of the trip had nothing to do with the new filly. By complete chance we met Charlie and Julia Rosier, who co-bred Randie’s Rascal, for the first time. They’re lovely people and very accomplished breeders, and it was a pleasure to tell them how well she’s done in Kentucky and how highly we think of her. We hope to give them more good news next year.

Those connections are part of what’s drawn us toward Europe. So is the racing at home. We’re based in Versailles, a short drive from Keeneland, with Churchill Downs close by, Ellis Park running turf through the summer, and Kentucky Downs, whose turf purses rank among the richest in North America. That’s a compelling program for a European-bred filly who can start early and keep improving, and if a few of those fillies become valuable broodmares, so much the better.

Our new filly ships to Kentucky soon. We’ll get her settled, give her time to develop, and see what kind of horse we have. Randie’s Rascal should be back in action next year, and for now we’re happy to have two daughters of Blue Point in the barn.