Quote:
Originally Posted by CSC
Yeah, the Melbourne cup is one of my favorite races everyone year, not sure his optimum distance is at the 2400 however, was interested at Aiden's comments after yesterday's race, mentioned his sire, a horse I absolutely loved that thrived at 2400. No doubt about it So You Think is a rare quality specimen.
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I have to think that Coolmore paid a whole lot of coin for this horse and gave O'Brien instructions to win as many G1 races as they can with him. He'd won a number of races at 10f already, so the cautious thing was to keep him at 10f. But the great Euros, the legends, have all won at 12f - Ribot, Sea-Bird, Nijisnky, Mill Reef, Sea the Stars, even Brigadier Gerard. His record will be incomplete without a major win at 12f. Horses who can't handle 12f get only honorable mention, like Caro, Dubai Millennium and Giant's Causeway.
And I see no reason why he can't do it. His sire had no problem at 12f; his dam won a G2 semi-classic at 2000m. His inbreeding to Northern Dancer is through two of the most stamina-laden of the old boy's sons - Sadler's Wells and Nijinsky. And he's from a solid old-time Aus/NZ family, the lot descending from imported Juliet (1851). His is the Francolin (1926) branch, which has also produced Jazz (Nz Derby), Winnipeg (Queensland Derby) and her daughter Peg's Pride (Wellington Derby), Philomel (Perth Cup), Our Flight (Nz Derby, 1000 Guineas, etc) and Show Ego (Victoria Oaks, Queensland Oaks).