G1 win number 9 for brilliant So You Think

The legendary So You Think (6h High Chaparral-Triassic, by Tights) was back to his brilliant best at the Curragh on Sunday when showing an electric turn of foot to land the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup for a second consecutive year. It was an amazing ninth G1 victory for the New Zealand-bred son of High Chaparral on whom jockey Joseph O’Brien waited patiently before finishing with a wet sail to score six lengths clear of Famous Name. So You Think is scheduled to stand at Coolmore Australia later this year and trainer Aidan O’Brien hopes his stable star may have two more runs in Europe before heading down under. "The first thing Joseph said to me was that the horse was only starting to come right now," said the winning trainer. "I should have taken a lot longer to get to know him, I was always of the opinion that he was a horse that loved to gallop and not break his rhythm. But Joseph is more of the other opinion, to wait with him and let him use his speed. "I probably should have been riding him more for speed than stamina and we were thinking earlier in the season of going to Newbury for the mile race (G1 Lockinge Stakes). "He travelled very strong and Joseph waited and opened up five or six lengths between him and Pat (Smullen on Famous Name) very quickly. "At least everyone saw how good he was and it has been a privilege to have him and a great experience. We learned a lot from having him and hopefully he’ll be with us for a couple more runs. If everything is alright he will go to Royal Ascot now either for the G1 Queen Anne Stakes over a mile or the G1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes over a mile and a quarter. Then if everything goes right he could go to Sandown (for the G1 Eclipse) and I think he goes into quarantine then to go to stud. "It’s great for us to have had him. Bart (Cummings) did a marvellous job and everyone in Australia saw how good he was and it probably took me a long time to work the horse out and how to ride him. It’s been a privilege to have had a horse like that." Winning rider Joseph O’Brien added: "He’s coming back to himself. He didn’t really handle the tapeta in Dubai but had a little break and was a much better horse on the nicer ground today as you could see. "He was lovely and relaxed, travelled nicely and went around in third gear most of the way. It’s all systems go for Ascot now I’d imagine. As he’d had a break after Dubai this was almost like his first run of the year so you’d hope he’d come on from that."