So You Think regained his winning form with a decisive victory over Famous Name in the Tattersalls Gold Cup (Ire-I) at the Curragh May 27.
The 6-year-old horse by High Chaparral bounced back from his fourth-place finish in the Dubai World Cup (UAE-I) March 31. It marked consecutive victories in the Tattersalls Gold Cup for So You Think, who also provided trainer Aidan O’Brien with his sixth winner of the race in the last 10 years.
A field of just five went to the post in the Gold Cup, led by So You Think and his stablemate, Robin Hood. The champion’s chief competition in the race was Dermot Weld’s Famous Name, a multiple stakes winner who was seeking his first group I success for owner Juddmonte Farm.
At the start it was Robin Hood who shot to the front under Seamie Heffernan. The pair opened up a clear lead on the rest of the small field as Joseph O’Brien settled So You Think into third behind the leader and longshot Elusive Ridge. Famous Name raced in fourth, as Bible Belt, the lone filly in the race, trailed.
The field began to edge closer as they rounded the final bend and as they hit the home straight, So You Think swept past his stablemate and into the lead.
Famous Name was in hot pursuit but as the horses raced through the straight, So You Think continued to draw off, crossing the wire six lengths clear.
Famous Name settled for second, with Robin Hood holding onto third, another 7 1/2 lengths farther back.
Final time for the 10 furlongs was 2:15.60 over a good turf course.
A pleased Aidan O’Brien said after the race, “He has had a good break since Dubai and Joseph was very pleased with his performance today. He is in the Prince of Wales’s at Royal Ascot and also the Queen Anne, but Excelebration will probably go for that.”
“The Eclipse (July 7) is likely to be his last race in Europe before he enters quarantine and goes back to Australia,” O’Brien added.
So You Think races for the partnership of Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor, Susan Magnier, Dato Tan, and T. Yahaya. He was bred in New Zealand by M.J. Moran and Piper Farm Ltd., and is out of the mare Triassic, a stakes-winning daughter of Tights.
