Champion racehorse and stallion So You Think has passed away, just days before the running of the race that made him a legend — the Cox Plate.
Coolmore confirmed on Monday afternoon that the 19-year-old dual Cox Plate winner and prolific sire of more than 60 stakes winners had succumbed to a short illness while receiving treatment at the Scone Equine Hospital.
Initially trained in Australia by the late Bart Cummings, So You Think captured five Group 1 victories on home soil for late owner Dato Tan Chin Nam before being sold to Coolmore and transferred to Aidan O’Brien at Ballydoyle in Ireland, where he added another five Group 1 triumphs to his name.
So You Think first etched his name into racing folklore when he claimed the 2009 Cox Plate as a three-year-old, before returning the following year to defend his crown as the dominant $1.50 favourite. His brilliance, presence, and will to win saw him widely regarded as one of the finest horses of his era.
Cummings once described him as “perfection on four legs, you don’t get any better than him, he is the finest, most genuine horse I have ever trained.”
Bred by Windsor Park Stud in New Zealand, the son of High Chaparral was purchased for NZ$110,000 by Duncan Ramage on behalf of Dato Tan Chin Nam at the 2008 Karaka Yearling Sale — a decision that would lead to one of the great modern racing stories.
In a heartfelt tribute, Coolmore Australia principal Tom Magnier reflected on the profound impact So You Think had both on and off the track. “When people visit Coolmore, more often than not the stallion most of them really want to see is So You Think,” Magnier said.
“He was an absolute gentleman, an incredibly kind and intelligent horse and this is a sad day for all the staff that have looked after him so well at Coolmore since he retired in 2012.”
Magnier also recalled the extraordinary achievements that underlined So You Think’s legacy. “I will never forget the day he sired three Group 1 winners at Randwick in 2022, but equally the day he provided Joseph O’Brien with his first Royal Ascot winner as a jockey in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes in 2012.”
Since his retirement, So You Think established himself as one of Australia’s most consistent sires, finishing in the top ten on the national sires’ table for the past five seasons and twice finishing runner-up to I Am Invincible. His influence on the breed, both domestically and abroad, will endure for generations to come.
So You Think
10x Group 1 winner, 2x Cox Plate Winner.
One of the greatest to ever do it 💛 pic.twitter.com/JQc5otTwMd
— Coolmore Australia (@CoolmoreAus) October 20, 2025
