Phoenix Of Dreams made his fourth appearance of 2026 on Friday when putting in a gallant performance to finish third in a competitive field of twelve runners.

The idea of stepping Phoenix Of Dreams back up in trip has been banded around in recent weeks, and on Friday he finally made his return to seven furlongs for the first time since September 2024. Ultimately, the fact that he wasn't settling over the shorter distances in his last few starts was the catalyst that prompted the John & Sean Quinn team to make the decision run over further with him. That decision appeared to be the correct one from the outset at Southwell, as he settled nicely in the rear, with less of an emphasis on early position meaning that there was no need to involved him in a battle for the lead, or the rail, upon breaking from the stalls.

After getting comfortable at the rear of the field, regular partner, Jason Hart, eased Phoenix Of Dreams into the race and began to get to work on him as they rounded the final bend and went for home. Positioned on the outside of the field, and in behind a wall of runners, a lot of whom appeared to have gone for home too early, Phoenix Of Dreams found his gap inside two furlongs and began to make some strong headway as the field passed the furlong pole.

WATCH: 'He's a winner waiting to happen' – Jason Hart full of praise for Phoenix Of Dreams following Southwell run

Where the majority of his rivals were fading, Phoenix Of Dreams was just getting going, as he picked them off one by one in pursuit of Packetofbiscuits and Dream Illusion who had broken clear at the front of the field. Although he wasn't able to catch them, our five-year-old did reduce the deficit to the winner to just three lengths, having stayed on very strongly in the closing stages of the race, finishing third to earn his 10 lucky Owners for the Day a share of £1,550 each, extending his streak of finishing in the prize money to three.

We caught up with Sean Quinn the morning after the race and this is what he had to say:

"Phoenix Of Dreams is fine this morning, he's come out of the race in good order and eaten up well which is encouraging. 

I've been very pleased with the way he's settled in his last two races, I'd say this time was the most settled he's ever been which has ultimately led to him being able to finish his race off in the strong fashion we saw at Southwell. 

I think we'll be able to find weaker races in the same band over the next few weeks, as the increased prize money and exposure of the card being comparatively high to racedays of a similar quality led to a full field of strong opposition getting declared to run at Southwell.

I'm itching for him to get his head back in front, and I don't think it'll be too long before we see that if he carries on in the same vain. There's plenty of encouragement to be taken from the Southwell run so we'll see where the next logical step is for him over the coming weeks."

Check back soon to get the next update on Phoenix Of Dreams to find out what his upcoming targets might be and how you could be one of his Owners for the Day, as he aims for his fourth straight prize winning finish!