Having achieved the initial two steps of a three-stage strategy, promising colt Southend will now get his chance to complete the set in the Group 1 Champagne Stakes.
Following his debut victory in the Paul Perry (1300m) at Newcastle, Southend headed to Rosehill on Saturday and claimed the Group 3 Baillieu (1400m), securing a berth in 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 is by the ex-elite English sprinter-miler Palace Pier, victor of five Group 1 contests, from a So You Think three-quarter sister to Ryan’s past strong performer Peltzer.
Yet, that pedigree link wasn’t what drew Ryan and co-trainer Sterling Alexiou to Southend during 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’.”
Aboard was Dylan Gibbons, as Southend ($7.50) joined the fray mid-straight and powered away to beat Persian Wonder ($2.90 fav) by 1-1/4 lengths, with Nomadic ($81) a nose further back in third.
Gibbons noted Southend triumphed through sheer talent and would become even stronger once he masters his trade.
“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.”
Explore the Australian betting sites for top racing odds on Southend in the Champagne Stakes.