Bennett hopes Southport Tycoon will be handed a chance to scale Everest
Friday night’s impressive Manikato Stakes winner bidding to garner interest from remaining slot holders for $20 million sprint
Nathan Bennett is hoping Southport Tycoon’s (Written Tycoon) stunning win in last Friday night’s star-studded Manikato Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) can land the entire a slot in the $20 million Everest (1200m) at Randwick next month.
Last season’s Australian Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner belied his $21 odds, showing an explosive turn of foot befitting of a top-class sprinter to collar his Ciaron Maher-trained stable companion Growing Empire (Zoustar) in front of a packed crowd under the lights at The Valley.
The winning margin on the line was 0.1 lengths and while the victory may have on paper come as a shock, it did not surprise Bennett, who had always retained faith the four-year-old would return to the top table.
“We knew he had that sort of performance in him and we have always known he was a top-class racehorse, but the way he did it in the end was quite amazing,” Bennett told ANZ Bloodstock News on Saturday.
“With ten metres to go I said to the owners who were standing with me: ‘I think we have won this’. It was such a thrill. We obviously didn’t know until they had put the photo up, but I was pretty confident that he had got the win. I was hoping I hadn’t gone the early crow, thank god I hadn’t. It was an amazing thrill to see him do that. You don’t see many horses do that.
“Every race he has been in he has always gone off long odds, I think he has only gone off really short once and he got done on the bob that time, when he was a $1.80 favourite in a Group 2, but other than that time he has never been well-liked in the betting, I don’t know why. I would think now everyone will see that he is a star.”
While his starting odds suggest he might have slipped through the cracks, Southport Tycoon’s enormous talent hasn’t gone unnoticed by some big players in the industry. Following his successful three-year-old preparation, it was revealed Australian Bloodstock had bought a share in Southport Tycoon in August, with Widden Stud following suit a couple of weeks later.
Widden Stud’s Antony Thompson told ANZ Bloodstock News that he had great stratification watching the entire clinch a second Group 1 on Friday.
“We had a foot in each camp with Growing Empire being a lovely Zoustar colt and he looked like he was home for all money, but Southport Tycoon showed a brilliant turn of foot and it was given a great ride [by Mark Zahra], so to see him get there was pretty exciting,” said Thompson. “It was a thrilling race all round and nice to be there trackside to witness that – it was a pretty special night.”
Southport Tycoon went into Friday’s race second-up, having run fifth in the Show County Quality (Gr 3, 1200m) on August 24 and connections had been clear the Golden Eagle (1500m) was his main spring target.
However, after comfortably accounting for current Everest favourite I Wish I Win (Savabeel), who finished third on Friday, he could take in The Everest on October 19, providing he gets a slot, before he heads to the $10 million Golden Eagle at Rosehill on November 2.
“You would be crazy not to look at The Everest for him now, I would hope a few Everest slot holders would be getting in contact with us and I would be surprised if they don’t,” said Bennett.
“He has knocked over a world-class sprinting field there and he was taking lengths off the horse [Growing Empire] in front and taking lengths away from the others as well, so The Everest would make sense.
“If he ran in an Everest he would then go to the Golden Eagle afterwards, I reckon that would be the route to go.”
With his best performance coming in the 1600-metre Australian Guineas, there were question marks surrounding whether the 1200-metre Group 1 would suit the son of Written Tycoon (Iglesia) and Bennett said Zahra dispelled any of those doubts with his feedback following Friday night’s triumph.
“Mark Zahra said to us after the race: ‘He’s a sprinter, don’t worry about that’. He said he didn’t have time to pull the whip; he was going that fast. If you watch the front on, he didn’t actually use the whip at all, which is quite amazing.
“I think Growing Empire will be the horse to beat in the Coolmore now, he’s a very serious colt and I know Ciaron said he doesn’t know how good he is and that’s a great sign for us because our bloke has mowed him down a taken lengths off him late.”
With seven pieces of The Everest 12-piece puzzle decided, Godolphin, the ATC, James Harron, Coolmore and Yulong have not yet shown their cards as to who will represent them in the 1200-metre sprint.
While not officially announced, James Cummings suggested on Saturday that Golden Rose (Gr 1, 1200m) runner-up Traffic Warden (Street Boss) was the operation’s top seed for the sprint, while the Coolmore-raced Storm Boy (Justify), who finished fourth in the same Rosehill feature, made a play to fill the powerful operation’s space and the Yulong-owned Growing Empire also advertised his Everest credentials on Friday.
James Harron told ANZ Bloodstock News last week that Group 3-winning juvenile Bodyguard (I Am Invincible) was his top pick for the slot race. The colt was due to resume in last Saturday’s Heritage Stakes (Listed, 1100m), but scratched due to the unsuitably wet conditions. Peter Snowden confirmed the dual winner would now be re-routed to the Danehill Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m) at Flemington next Saturday.
Bennett is not only predicting Everest slot holders circling for the talented entire, but also studs looking to sign Southport Tycoon up to stand on their rosters at the conclusion of his racing career.
“I would say that the studs will all come now and Widden were smart enough to take a small piece of him and they have a foot in the door, so if they don’t stand him and someone else does they are still going to reap the rewards of it and get a good payday,” he said. “I would think he would be pretty wanted with the studs now and rightly he should be.”
Thompson said Friday night’s win added another dimension to Southport Tycoon’s already glowing CV and said he was urged to buy into the four-year-old by Maher.
“The ultimate stallion prospects are sprinter / milers and he has now won a Group 1 sprint and a Group 1 mile – he was already an exciting prospect when we bought into him and that was really elevated on Friday night,” said the stallion master.
“The real determining factor [of buying into him] was Ciaron Maher. I was talking to him about the horse and he had incredible belief in him. He said his data was off the charts and Ciaron’s enthusiasm, and just how effusive he was about him, gave us the confidence to buy in at a fairly high valuation. I think I owe Ciaron one on that front.”
A $300,000 purchase for Bennett Racing out of the draft of his breeders Daandine Stud at the 2022 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Southport Tycoon is the best of two winners out of the twice placed More Than Ready (Southern Halo) mare Ready To Rule. She was herself a $260,000 purchase for Daandine Stud and Boomer Bloodstock from the Bell View Park Stud draft at the 2015 Inglis Broodmare and Weanling Sale.
Ready To Rule is a sister to the stakes winner and Grade 1 placegetter Grace And Power, the dam of Darley Classic (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Delectation (Shamardal) and Gracie’s Lass (Redoute’s Choice), who herself is the dam of Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) and Canterbury Stakes (Gr 1, 1300m) winner Artorius (Flying Artie), who now stands at Newgate Farm.
“He is from a wonderful family developed by Greg Perry. Written Tycoon has been a terrific sire and a great influence and we loved the way he is bred,” said Thompson.
“I think he is a horse that has really developed again and a horse that has stepped up from three to four again. The way he has furnished. I think his record is exciting, but I think what is more exciting is what is in front of him – there are a lot of options for him. We are excited to be involved with a horse like him.”
Beyond a potential tilt at The Everest and other spring carnival options, Southport Tycoon could be set for a trip overseas, with Bennett confirming the entire has been nominated for the Invitational Mile Championship (Gr 1, 1600m) at Kyoto on November 17.
“We have also nommed him for the Mile Championship in Japan,” he said. “But I don’t know how that will go because you have to have your injections and that can be risky because they can sometimes have a reaction to them, so that would be a big call.”