As anyone who's had even an inkling of where I come from can readily attest, we Aussies have long desired a world wide thoroughbred superstar, to drape our hopes upon. We have probably the best sprinter in the world, and have at different times, had others who would have taken on and beaten any other sprinter on the face of the planet. But stayers strutting there stuff on the world stage, have been a bit thin on the ground. That's not to say that we believe our product is below the world's best standard, it's just that we, for reasons that have always evaded me, seem to be reticent to take the plunge.
With the different breeding seasons, we can never compete in the three year old classics, where most of the heavyweight reputations seem to be forged. So we're wedged in behind the eight ball before we can get the cue down from the rack. If we're to make a mark on the big stage, we are left with no option but to take on the older horses in the big G1 events. Sandown on Saturday sees Australian hopes centre around our latest hot prospect, So You Think, who steps out in the Eclipse against the Derby winner Workforce, over ten furlongs. And this has been a real worry since his defeat in the Prince of Wales Stakes, when he went down to the Frankie Dettori ridden Rewilding. As we all know, all manner of "you know what" hit the fan when So You Think ran out of fuel in the shadows of the post.
After the race, Aiden O'Brien was quick to take the blame for the horse's defeat, upon himself. He effect, he stated that he'd let the horse get away from him, which resulted in the animal being underdone on race day. There is no way that I can take issue with his opinions. He takes care of the horse, while sit in a lounge on the far side of the planet, trying to second guess what's happening. One only has to take a quick look at my napping efforts to see that I get things wrong, heaps of the time. I may be getting things a little wrong here, but I don't think I've seen too much from the AOB stable about the possibility that the animal might have been badly ridden in the Prince of Wales Stakes. I hope that I'm wrong.
So where does this leave the average punter, never mind the likes of a victory hungry Australian like me? Will So You Think, with extra work pumped into his legs, be ridden in the same manner? Will he still be ridden for home from a long way out, and again be asked to defy the challengers? Or will he be held together for longer, thereby giving him the chance to go to the post full of running. I fully realise that there will probably be others who will disagree with my conclusions on the Prince of Wales Stakes, but I'm firmly of the opinion that he'd have won if ridden more coldly. It has to be remembered, that what made this horse a great in Australia, was the manner in which he was handled in running. We don't race in the European pattern, and this might be what can regularly bring the horse undone in the North. Make no mistake, he has loads of ability, it's now a matter of Aiden O'Brien finding the key to him.
With the different breeding seasons, we can never compete in the three year old classics, where most of the heavyweight reputations seem to be forged. So we're wedged in behind the eight ball before we can get the cue down from the rack. If we're to make a mark on the big stage, we are left with no option but to take on the older horses in the big G1 events. Sandown on Saturday sees Australian hopes centre around our latest hot prospect, So You Think, who steps out in the Eclipse against the Derby winner Workforce, over ten furlongs. And this has been a real worry since his defeat in the Prince of Wales Stakes, when he went down to the Frankie Dettori ridden Rewilding. As we all know, all manner of "you know what" hit the fan when So You Think ran out of fuel in the shadows of the post.
After the race, Aiden O'Brien was quick to take the blame for the horse's defeat, upon himself. He effect, he stated that he'd let the horse get away from him, which resulted in the animal being underdone on race day. There is no way that I can take issue with his opinions. He takes care of the horse, while sit in a lounge on the far side of the planet, trying to second guess what's happening. One only has to take a quick look at my napping efforts to see that I get things wrong, heaps of the time. I may be getting things a little wrong here, but I don't think I've seen too much from the AOB stable about the possibility that the animal might have been badly ridden in the Prince of Wales Stakes. I hope that I'm wrong.
So where does this leave the average punter, never mind the likes of a victory hungry Australian like me? Will So You Think, with extra work pumped into his legs, be ridden in the same manner? Will he still be ridden for home from a long way out, and again be asked to defy the challengers? Or will he be held together for longer, thereby giving him the chance to go to the post full of running. I fully realise that there will probably be others who will disagree with my conclusions on the Prince of Wales Stakes, but I'm firmly of the opinion that he'd have won if ridden more coldly. It has to be remembered, that what made this horse a great in Australia, was the manner in which he was handled in running. We don't race in the European pattern, and this might be what can regularly bring the horse undone in the North. Make no mistake, he has loads of ability, it's now a matter of Aiden O'Brien finding the key to him.
