Craig Young July 06, 2012
Final win ... So You Think wins The Prince of Wales' Stakes at Royal Ascot. Photo: Reuters
The racing career of one of Australian thoroughbred racing's modern day greats, the two-time Cox Plate winner So You Think, is over.
The High Chaparral stallion, which was valued at $50 million when owner Dato Tan Chim Nam sold a controlling interest in the stallion to global breeding giants Coolmore Stud, is off to the breeding barn.
Prepared by the maestro Bart Cummings when winning five Australian group 1s from just 12 outings So You Think was bought by Coolmore after finishing third behind Americain in the 2010 Melbourne Cup.
Sent to Coolmore's Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien So You Think had another 11 starts and won a further five group 1s although he failed to win in France, Dubai and the US.
So You Think was due to defend last year's Eclipse Stakes victory at Sandown Park tomorrow morning but pulled muscles in his hindquarters shortly before the final field of 10 was announced for the Eclipse.
"So You Think was found to be lame in his stable a short time ago," O'Brien wrote on the Coolmore website. "So You Think is an extraordinary horse & it was a real privilege to have had him here at Ballydoyle on loan from Australia."
So You Think goes out a winner having won the Prince Of Wales Stakes at the Queen's Royal Ascot meeting taking the record to 23 starts, 14 wins, four seconds, one third for prizemoney of $8,003,546.
The five-year-old returns to Australia for the up coming breeding season and he'll stand at Coolmore's Hunter Valley Stud for a service fee of $66,000.