For Australasian racing fans and, more recently, thoroughbred fans in the United Kingdom as well as North America, a colt with a winning heart has renewed excitement in the sport. But for those who knew him first, and despite the wonders of the great filly, Black Caviar, So You Think has earned the right to stand alongside other Southern Hemisphere champions like Sunline, Lonhro, Redoute’s Choice, Makybe Diva, Denman and More Than Ready.
THE VAULT is privileged to have the outstanding photography of Australasia’s most prestigious equine photographer, Bronwen Healy, to enrich our narrative. For readers who would like to see more of Ms. Healy’s work, we recommend EITHER her blog OR her website — OR BOTH!!!!!
http://bronwenhealyphotography.blogspot.com/2011_10_01_archive.html
http://www.bronwenhealy.com.au/
It all began during High Chaparral’s summer visit to New Zealand’s Windsor Park Stud in 2005, where So You Think(2006) was bred and foaled. There, the beautiful son of Sadler’s Wells who had won both the Epsom and Irish Derbies, as well as the BC Turf Classic twice (the second win shared with Johar) met up with Triassac (1990), a Group 2 winning daughter of Tights (1981) and a granddaughter of the mighty Nijinsky (1967), England’s last Triple Crown winner. Southern Hemisphere breeders have long been dedicated to introducing the best genetic individuals into their existing bloodstock and the result of the High Chaparral-Triassac union, So You Think, has proved a resounding success in promoting this practice.
Purchased for a mere $110,000 AUD by legendary thoroughbred trainer and owner, Bart Cummings on behalf of the partnership of Malaysian billionaire Dato Tan Chin Nam and Tunku Ahmad Yahaya, the stage was set for the opening of a brand new racing narrative. For if anyone could take an arguably backward colt and groom him into a champion, it would be John Bartholomew (“Bart”) Cummings.
Cummings had trained the great Leilani (1970), who won half of her 28 starts and earned a record $270,870 AUD — more than any mare had ever won before her. The filly’s wins included the AJC Oaks, the Caulfield and Australian cups and she scored a valiant second place finish in the 1974 Melbourne Cup to stablemate, Think Big.
Saintly (1992) remains the stuff of racing legend in Australia, a beautiful chestnut gelding who was bred by Cummings and whose exploits on the track earned him the nickname of “The horse from heaven,” a play both on his name and the fact that his jockey, Darren Beadman, was a born-again Christian. Australia’s 1997 Horse of the Year, the four year-old Saintly first took the Cox Plate before showing up a mere 10 days later to score a resounding victory in the Melbourne Cup. At the time of his retirement, the well-loved champion had started 23 times, winning or placing in 21. Together with Secretariat’s champion son, Kingston Rule, Bart Cummings’ training feats have been so spectacular as to land him at the top of the heap in 2010, with a total of 264 Group 1 winners that year.
So You Think inherited his sire’s “no nonsense” approach to racing. Still, he was a bit of a “late bloomer” in an industry that favours horses who show early speed. In part, this was due to his size — So You Think needed time to “grow into himself” as many of the larger thoroughbreds do. To help him overcome a little of that early awkwardness and immaturity, Cummings outfitted him with blinkers which he sported for his single start as a 2 year-old and throughout his 3 year-old campaign. Another character trait — one that both Cummings and now, Aidan O’Brien, needed to take into serious account — is So You Think’s tremendous stamina, making it risky to let him cruise along to easy victories too often. In other words, this is a colt who needs a challenge and thrives when asked to step up to serious competition.
By the time he reached the 2009 Cox Plate as a 3 year-old, So You Think had won 2 of his 4 starts. True, he needed to be approved by the Moonee Valley Racing Club to even be entered, but the decision was taken not only on the basis of his rather meagre racing credentials, but also on the undisputed fact that there was something about the big, almost black colt that bespoke celebrity.
The W.S. Cox Plate is generally regarded as the truest “test of champions” in all of Australian and New Zealand racing. Run over a distance of 2,040 metres, or 2,231 yards on the turf, it is open to thoroughbreds of both sexes from 3 year-olds up. Since its debut in 1922, the Cox Plate has been won by the likes of Carbine, Ajax, Phar Lap, Tulloch, Kingston Town (who won it three times), Sunline, Saintly and the incomparable Makybe Diva. Given its sterling reputation, in 1999 the race was included in the Emirates World Series Racing Championship, a kind of “grand Prix” of horse racing, together with other championship races worldwide: the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (ENG), the Japan Cup, the Hong Kong Cup, the Dubai World World Cup, the Canadian International, the Arlington Millions, the BC Turf Classic and Classic, the Grosser Preis Von Baden (GERMANY) and the Irish Champion Stakes. Ask any serious Australasian racing fan about the Cox Plate and they will tell you, without hesitation, that it is a race where legends are made.
So You Think’s 2009 Cox Plate victory did not disappoint:
Even veteran photographers like Bronwen Healy were stunned when they saw So You Think parading in the paddock before his Cox Plate triumph. He was an exquisite-looking individual and a horse who seemed to speak of centuries of royal blood. He regarded onlookers and fellow equines from a kind of lofty distance, as though prescient of what was to come.
Even though he had fans before the 2009 Cox Plate victory, So You Think amassed the hearts and minds of two continents after it. He is a thoroughbred who doesn’t need to win every race he runs to garner the affection and respect of his racing public. So You Think just “has it,” has the quality of a star, of a horse as unforgettable as Secretariat or Man O’ War or Seabiscuit or Nijinsky, or of great racing mares like Sunline or Genuine Risk or Personal Ensign or Rachel Alexandra or Zenyatta or Rags To Riches or Makybe Diva. And, hard as it is to describe, all the “great ones” seem to show it. It’s in their eyes that seem to flicker over us and then fly beyond, it’s in their attentiveness to the world around them, it’s in their blood — a blood so close to myth and legend that it does, indeed, seem to transmute into gold.
In his 4 year-old season, the champion returned in what appeared to be even finer form than that of the preceding year. Early on, So You Think took the Memsie, Underwood and Yalumba Stakes, making him the odds-on favourite for the 2010 Cox Plate. At this point, punters were already declaring him to be one of the greatest thoroughbreds ever to race in Australia which, considering the context and the pantheon of champion Australian thoroughbreds, was an absolutely huge endorsement. Once again, but this time without blinkers, So You Think ran his heart out, much to the delight of the crowd and his connections. In the footage below, we hear from Bart Cummings and jockey, Steve Arnold, before switching to footage of the great Black Caviar chalking up still another impressive win. (Black Caviar will be featured in our next article here on THE VAULT!!!!)
A mere 7 days later, So You Think scored another victory, this time in the MacKinnon Stakes, before going on to a 2nd place finish in the prestigious Melbourne Cup. The first victory of his four year-old campaign, the Memsie Stakes, came on August 28, 2010; the Melbourne Cup was run on November 2. So You Think had raced 6 times in 65 days, all in Group 1 company except for the Memsie and had won 5 times.
This underscores Bart Cummings’ comment after the colt’s loss to the wonderful Rewilding at Ascot. “They’re just not pushing him hard enough,” Cummings observed and the sense of that was reflected in the colt’s new trainer, Aidan O’ Brien, who blamed himself for the loss. After which, there has been much debate among the punters in Great Britain and North America about the champion’s “real” ability. But it is our view, here at THE VAULT, that those who question his greatness will need to account for So You Think’s record in 2010-2011. Since his transfer to Coolmore Ireland, the son of High Chaparral has won 3 more races, 2 of which were Group 1’s, sustaining only the one loss to Rewilding before the end of his 4 year-old campaign. Now competing as a 5 year-old, and still waiting for Aidan O’Brien to “get him right,” So You Think has won 1 of 2 starts and the win, in the Irish Champion Stakes, means that he’s annexed 2 races in the Emirates World Series Racing Championship in slightly less than 12 months.
What kind of a thoroughbred is he, this big muscular colt with the wise, glowing eyes?
In the world of horse racing, a place where skillful trainers and wise owners take the time to raise, train, nurture and support a horse with this kind of potential, So You Think is that intangible essence of courage and heart that we call thoroughbred.
Thank you, Abigail, for educating me about So You Think! I have been enamored of the horse for some time, but I have not been able to do much in depth research so I’m grateful you have supplied the information here. Thanks!
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I went into shock at mention of “his loss” boarding to go to Ireland – I admit I am so shallow I look at photos first, then read the text. Then (phew!) calmed down when I realised the loss was Australia’s and So You Think was leaving that country for a new one…and would continue doing just what you think he should be doing: racing and winning. Thanks, Abigail. And fabulous photography. His mane and forelock are truly wonderfully unruly – may they remain so.
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Thank you, Abigail, for a great bio of So You Think. I have come to appreciate quite a number of the current runners from GB, FR, IRE, and AUS. Was so pleased to see that one of my all-time favorite horses, Round Table, is in So You Think’s family tree! That explains SYT’s total class, his stamina, his endurance, all powerfully visible in this wonderful horse! Love his unruly “bangs”! As long as you are stopping off in Australia to cover So You Think, and next Black Caviar, I hope you take on Makybe Diva while you are in the area! She is such an incredible mare, there just aren’t enough superlatives to cover her story, but I know you will find them all! Thanks again for this on SYT. I have admired him but had not read much background. Your coverage, as always, is interesting, informative, and a pleasure to read. Ann Maree
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Goodness, I’ve never even heard of this guy, so what a treat to read about such a cool TB! That’s some hippie hair he sports, alright. 🙂 Thanks for expanding my racing knowledge; about all I was familiar with in the scene Down Under was they have a big race called the Melbourne Cup.
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Thank you Abigail for your wonderful bio of So You Think. I have always loved him and was devastated when he was sold to the Irish interests. I still watch his races and pray that he is as loved as he was at Saintly Place and that he travels safely in his races. I feel for the loss that Bart and his staff must have felt when they said their farewell to this beautiful horse. I wish the Coolmore staff hadn’t cut his magnificant mane and forelock.
Diana
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Diana: Thanks so much for taking the time to leave comments! I just love hearing from my readers. I can understand how devastated you must have been…it would be like selling Zenyatta to Dubai! And as if that wasn’t tough enough, I really do not think that O’Brien & company have him quite right yet. I understand the gamble in the Arc in terms of stretching him out — and he answered brilliantly, I thought. This should help him in the BC Classic too. It’s more that they seem to be playing with his preferred running style; clearly, he needs to be near the leaders from the start! Abigail
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I too felt an enormous sadness when SYT left for Ireland. I still watch all his races and pray he remains safe and sound. I do not expect him to win everytime, I simply love to watch this courageous horse. One cannot help but feel for the loss and sadness Bart and his staff must have felt when SYT left Saintly Place. Thanks for your wonderful article, it brought tears to my eyes.
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Diana: It was a pleasure! I was honoured to write about such a great, great thoroughbred.
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With the 2011 Cox Plate just days away it is great to look back and reflect on simply how good So You Think was in the past two editions of this race. There will be a new race winner on Saturday, but it is hard to believe they will be as dominant as So You Think was in this race and most other races since.
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Jesse: How nice to hear from you! I agree. So You Think did the job as elegantly as other Aussie superstars and his victories absolutely took my breath away. I just wish that Aidan O’Brien would get him right, even though it might be that his best years are over. Still, when I watched him charging ahead in the Arc, over a distance he might not have favoured, I couldn’t help but think, “This is a truly GREAT thoroughbred!”
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Dear Abigail,
Another lovely blog about such a talented colt. Hope Adian Obrien gets it right with his training and he wins the BCC. He is definately the best
Euro horse in the race. He could beat HDG and Uncle Mo if everything is right. What a confident, kind eye and a very rugged masculine forelock, love his eye looking out from under that forelock. I left you a breeding question on Zenyatta.com. Thanks again for these great blogs.
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Thanks, sign. I must confess that I am slowly getting back to The Vault since the death of my beloved Jericho. Grief is so unpredictable and so acute that it’s been tough to get up and running in terms of a new article here….as well as many of the more mundane things in life! I know that you’ll understand, as you lost your best mate recently too. I have yet to get to the place where I know I did the right thing for Jericho, or where I can accept that he will not come back to me as we once were. I agree with your observations about So You Think. He will most definitely be the best horse in the field, regardless. Win or lose, though, it will be lovely to see him in Kentucky! Fond regards, Abigail
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wow, he is positively breathtaking . The essense of all things great and wonderful about thoroughbreds. I love his mop top.
thank you for sharing him with us. It’s hard to keep up with the U.S. horses and those around the world. He is a gift. I wonder if he will ever come to the U.S.
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Hi Delrene: Thanks so much for taking the time to write! He is a lovely, lovely colt and his mop top sure endeared him to his Aussie fans! He is coming to the BC Classic and, although I love them all, I’ve gotta say that he’s by far the most accomplished in the field, although it’s hard to say how he’ll handle the dirt. Glad you enjoyed the article! Next up is Black Caviar, hopefully, by the end of the week. HUGS, Abigail
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Great article. I have become a huge fan of So You Think. He has had a tough season in Europe but he’s a tough horse. I am looking forward to seeing him in the BCC. Should be a great race.
Good to see you getting back in the swing Abigail.
Regards, William
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I so agree, William! I just hope that O’Brien & company will have him right by this coming Saturday. I do think, though, that his run in the Arc will stand him in good stead in the BCC. Lovely hearing from you! Abigail
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Dear Abigail
Oh yes I do understand what a loss you are feeling for your wonderful Jericho. It is very hard
To get back to full speed while grieving and it does take time. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your son as you follow the steps of grieving for your very special pal. Take the time
You need and he will leave his place in your heart. Live the tribute you wrote on this blog for him. XXXOOO. Thanks for all you contribute to Zenyatta.com and this blog. My Montreal friend.
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I think the Breeders Cup Classic is up for grabs and he may well take it. I have a soft spot for Havre de Grace but if she does not win I certainly would love to see this boy take the honors. There have been so many great race mares in the USA the past few years, putting the boys to shame. LOL
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Double Jay: Sorry to be so late in responding…I got so caught up in the Breeders Cup myself that my whole “Vault schedule” is off! I was sad that So You Think didn’t blaze home the way he did in his races in 2010 and sorry, too, that so few of us over here got to see him at his best. But Mike ran a brilliant race and I was happy for him & Drosselmeyer. Such a game & gutsy colt!
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Dear Abigail,
Thought So You Think ran great in that deep dirt Churchill track.
Wish they would have gotten him closer to the lead. He could have really pressed Game on Dude. Not sure Adian has it right with this guy, wish they would send him back to Australia. Read Coolmore is trying to make some
money up for what they paid. Ashame. He is absolutely gorgeous.
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