Think About It lands Kingsford Smith Cup

The Joe Pride-trained Think About It (So You Think) extended his winning streak and stamped his ticket to next month’s Stradbroke Handicap (Gr 1, 1400m) when he galloped to an impressive victory in the Kingsford Smith Cup (Gr 1, 1300m) at Eagle Farm yesterday, becoming Coolmore Stud-based sire So You Think’s (High Chaparral) tenth top-flight winner in the process. 

Ridden by Sam Clipperton, the gelding never looked in any danger of losing his winning run, eventually scooting to a threequarterlength win over Group 1 winner Converge (Frankel), while fellow elite-level winner Rothfire (Rothesay) was a further neck away in third.  

The Proven Thoroughbreds-raced gelding has been somewhat of a revelation this preparation, which he opened with a first-up win at Warwick Farm on January 11 and yesterday’s victory was consecutive win number six for the four-year-old, while his career record sits at eight wins from nine starts. 

This Group 1 comes off the back of stakes wins in the Liverpool City Cup (Gr 3, 1300m) and Takeover Target Stakes (Listed, 1200m). 

Despite the impressive win, Pride had mixed emotions as he watched the race unfold as stable favourite Eduardo (Host), who after leading, faded in the straight to finish second last. 

“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.”

On the winner, Pride said: “This horse here is just going from strength to strength.

“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.

“But 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 1400 metres would be no problem for him in a couple of weeks’ time.”

Pride said that Think About It would now return to Warwick Farm and start preparing for the Stradbroke Handicap, which takes place back at Eagle Farm on June 10. 

“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.

“His second dam is actually a Zabeel mare and just the whole way through I sort of thought he would get over ground, but he’s a bit explosive to do that isn’t he. It’s sort of hard to believe that a horse like this would run beyond a mile, you’d think he would run a mile, and there will be opportunities for that down the track.

“They are easy to place good horses. They make us look like we are doing a really good job. And the team has done a good job with this horse. Justin [McIntosh], who rides him at home, has done a marvellous job. The whole team deserves a big thanks. It is so exciting to have a horse like this ripping through the grades.” 

Think About It (4 g So You Think – Tiare by Flying Spur) was bought by his trainer and Jamie Walter’s Proven Thoroughbreds for $70,000 from the Newgate Farm draft at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale in 2020. 

The gelding is out of winning mare Tiare (Flying Spur), making him half-brother to winning duo Private Cheetah (Pierro) and Kokoshnik (Pierro). 

Tiare is a half-sister to Group 2 scorer Keen Array (Bel Esprit), while further back this is the same family as New Zealand 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Chambord (Zabeel) and Hong Kong Group 1-winning pair Sky Field (Deep Field) and The Duke (Danehill). 

Tiare produced a colt by So You Think’s Coolmore Stud-based barnmate Pierro (Lonhro) in 2021, before foaling a colt by another Coolmore stallion, Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj), the following season. 

The mare was purchased by Grenville Stud for $150,000 at the 2021 edition of the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale and has most recently been covered by their resident stallion, Zululand (Fastnet Rock).  

Think About It once again exemplifies the potency when So You Think is mated to daughters of Flying Spur (Danehill), with the gelding one of 17 winners from 24 runners bred on this cross, which has produced another Group 1 winner in Nakeeta Jane. 

This season, So You Think has sired 12 stakes winners, while his total stakes-winning tally stands at 53. The stallion will stand the upcoming breeding season for an increased fee of $99,000 (inc GST), having commanded a fee of $93,500 (inc GST) in 2022.

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