Accomplishing steps one and two of a three-step agenda, budding colt Southend is lined up for a shot at perfection in the Group 1 Champagne Stakes.
He began by winning the Paul Perry (1300m) on debut at Newcastle before travelling to Rosehill on Saturday to scoop the Group 3 Baillieu (1400m) and gain entry to 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.”
Out of a So You Think three-quarter sister to Ryan’s one-time classy horse Peltzer, Southend is sired by Palace Pier, the ex-top English sprinter-miler with five Group 1 successes.
That lineage wasn’t the drawcard for Ryan and Sterling Alexiou at the yearling sales, however.
“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’.”
Dylan Gibbons piloted Southend ($7.50), who responded halfway down the straight and bolted in to master Persian Wonder ($2.90 fav) by 1-1/4 lengths, Nomadic ($81) only a nose away in third.
According to Gibbons, Southend succeeded on natural prowess and holds vast potential as he matures.
“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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