Blue Goblin out of Cup

Blue Goblin and Bollin Joanne head the defectors for the Stewards' Cup at Goodwood on 2 August, for which 62 entries stood their ground yesterday. Coastal Bluff, last year's winner, has top-weight of 9st 10lb.

Danetime, whom connections would be unlikely to risk on firm ground, has 8st 7lb and is Ladbrokes' 4-1 favourite with a run for the six furlongs handicap.

A new player paid $1.5m (pounds 896,000) for a Storm Cat colt at the final session of Keeneland's two-day July Selected Yearling Sale.

Bob Baffert, trainer of Silver Charm, this year's Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, picked out and bought the colt, the sale's top lot, for a still-undisclosed American buyer. "A new player" in the market was all Baffert could say.

Baffert added of his new client: "He was watching the Silver Charm stuff and wanted to get involved. He wanted a horse to take to the Derby. He called me on Sunday I've never met him and asked me to pick out a horse."

"The colt's value will be peanuts compared to what I paid today," predicted Baffert.

The 175 lots sold grossed $62,565,000. The average price was $357,514 compared to last year's $349,880 and the median price for both years was $300,000.

The average price this year was up 2.2 per cent, with total sales up 7.1 per cent.