With seven wins from eight previous starts, the last five wins in succession, the Joe Pride trained So You Think gelding Think About It kept the picket fence going when conquering an elite field of sprinters at WFA to win the $1million BRC Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
With stakes wins at his last two starts, albeit in much easier company, Think About It was facing the real acid test today and rose to the challenge, putting on his usual show pre-race in the mounting yard where he can get on his toes.
Ridden patiently by his regular rider Sam Clipperton, Think About It travelled well tucked in behind the speed set by his veteran multiple Group I winning stablemate Eduardo.
While Eduardo faded from contention, Think About It hit top gear and surged to the line to win by three-quarters of a length over Group I winners Converge and Rothfire.
"It's hard watching a race like that because I had Eduardo fading out at the end and sort of mixed emotions. But we will let the dust settle and see how he pulls up. But this horse here is just going from strength to strength,” said Joe Pride.
"I wasn't surprised with his pre-race behaviour, but he has travelled up well and been really good here at the races, but just the last few minutes he got a bit excited.
"Wow what a performance. He sat three deep. He got a bit of cover but he was exposed and had to get past a proper horse in Rothfire. He took care of that and he was strong through the line. You'd think 1400m will be no problems for him in a couple of weeks time.
"Somewhere in that field you probably have (seen the Stradbroke winner) and let's hope it's Think About It. It was a dynamic performance and he will only improve, he was three weeks between runs, and he is not going to take a backwards step from there.
“As long as he pulls up well we will get him home to Warwick Farm, his favourite training destination, and bring him back up here in a couple of weeks time.”
Sam Clipperton has been aboard Think About It in his past six wins and has forged a great partnership with the talented four year-old.
"He's the sort of horse that we get out of bed for. I'm a bit speechless. He potentially could do wonders for my career, and I've just won a Group One on him so he has already done wonders for my career, but he's just got so much untapped ability,” said Clipperton who is looking forward to the G1 Stradbroke next month.
"He drops five kilos, I think he gets 54 in the Stradbroke. Not often Group One weight-for-age races are used as progression to a handicap and he's just ticked off a big Group One weight-for-age race with plenty of old, hard-headed, weight-for-age horses in that field."
A $70,000 Inglis Premier purchase for Proven Thoroughbreds / Joe Pride Racing from the Newgate Farm draft, Think It Over was bred by Lightning Thoroughbreds and foaled and raised at Newgate.
He has the imposing record of eight wins and a third from nine starts with prizemoney of $1million and is the best of three winners from Tiare, a winning half-sister by Flying Spur to Group II winning sprinter Keen Array.
His grand-dam is by Zabeel and the family features two Group I winners in Hong Kong in The Duke and Sky Field, so there is plenty of quality on the page and So You think has produced Group I winners from daughters of both Flying Spur and Zabeel.
Tiare was sold through the Newgate Consignment at the 2021 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale for $150,000 to Tasmania based Grenville Stud.
Tiare produced a colt by Wootton Bassett (GB) last spring and was then covered by Grenville Stud’s young Fastnet Rock stallion Zululand.
Think About It is the tenth Group I winner for So You Think, whose fee at Coolmore this spring is set at $99,000.
