By Tom Frary
Facing only two rivals in Thursday's G2 Kingdom of Bahrain July Stakes at Newmarket, Godolphin's Inner City Blues (Blue Point) simply had to deliver and made no mistake to provide Charlie Appleby with some cheer.
At €900,000 the top-priced colt at the Arqana May Breeze-Up, the winner who had scored on debut at York last month was in behind the more-experienced Adaay Of Scarlett (Mehmas) and Hickory Lad (James Garfield) throughout the early stages. Asked to close by William Buick passing two out, the 5-6 favourite took a while to get organised but was able to overhaul his peers in the last half furlong and assert for a 1 1/4-length success. Adaay Of Scarlett stuck on for second as he had in the Coventry, with Hickory Lad 1 1/2 lengths further back.
This was a first renewal for the stable at a time when it was badly needed given the absence of big-race success in 2026. “He's a horse with a bright future. Physically he's a strong individual, but he still shows that bit of mental immaturity,” Appleby said. “A lot of horses travel and when they come off the bridle they go backwards, but what I love about him is when he comes off the bridle he just keeps finding.”
“He hits that flat spot where he just goes through the gears, but when he hits top gear he is away,” he added. “Coming out towards the centre was always going to be more of a challenge for him, but full credit to the horse as he did it in good style. Will [Buick] said he wouldn't say to step up to seven straightaway, as he feels he could get quicker as he gets wiser.”
Buick added, “He does everything right, he just shows a bit of greenness and I expect him to improve again. He'll get stronger and he's a very straightforward horse who is pretty fast. Whether Charlie and the team want to go over seven down the line, we'll see, but he may get quicker the more racing he has.”
INNER CITY BLUES 😍
Group Two success in the Kingdom Of Bahrain July Stakes for Charlie Appleby, @WilliamBuickX and @godolphin 🔵@BahrainTurfClub | @NewmarketRace pic.twitter.com/SOXNY0iqfU
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 9, 2026
Pedigree Notes
Inner City Blues is the second foal out of Dancin Inthestreet (Muhaarar), a daughter of the Prix Eclipse winner Souvenir Delondres (Siyouni) whose son Dr Zempf (Dark Angel) was a Group 3-winning TDN Rising Star who was runner-up in the Phoenix Stakes. Also connected to the Schuylerville winner Distinct Habit (Distinctive Pro), her yearling colt by Starspangledbanner was a 230,000gns purchase by Jamie McCalmont Bloodstock at Tattersalls December while she also has a filly foal by Vandeek.
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