Successfully completing the first pair of objectives in a three-phase roadmap, rising star colt Southend now aims to cap it off with a tilt at the Group 1 Champagne Stakes.
Securing the Paul Perry (1300m) at Newcastle on his first start, Southend then ventured to Rosehill on Saturday where he lifted the Group 3 Baillieu (1400m) to qualify for the Championships.
“That has always been the plan. To go to Newcastle, here today, then if he looks as though he’s had enough we’ll stop him, and if not he’ll go to the Champagne in three weeks,” co-trainer Gerald Ryan said.
“He’s a very good horse, I think.”
Southend descends from the accomplished former English miler-sprinter Palace Pier, taker of five Group 1 victories, via a So You Think three-quarter sister of Ryan’s previous sharp galloper Peltzer.
Nevertheless, that family connection did not sway Ryan and partner trainer Sterling Alexiou when selecting Southend at the yearling sales.
“That wasn’t the reason I bought him,” Ryan said.
“The week before the sales, Sterling had gone home for a few days and when he came back I said, ‘I reckon I found one for you’. I took him down to Mill Park (Stud’s barn), there were five horses there we looked at, and I never told him which one it was.
“This horse came out and Sterling, goes, ‘he’s a classic’ and I said, ‘I know. This is the one I want you to like’.”
Under Dylan Gibbons, Southend ($7.50) accelerated from the midway point of the straight and stormed home to pip Persian Wonder ($2.90 fav) by 1-1/4 lengths, while Nomadic ($81) was a nose behind in third place.
Gibbons remarked that Southend’s win came via innate ability and he will improve markedly with seasoning.
“The thing I loved most is that last furlong, he was just looking for some challengers. God help him when he learns what his job is,” Gibbons said.
“I’m sure he will eat up and bounce out of the run, and we’ll have a crack at the big one (Champagne Stakes). If he can take any natural improvement again, it’s scary to see where he can get to.”
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