Australian star So You Think lost little in the eyes of his former trainer Bart Cummings despite his shock defeat at Royal Ascot.
So You Think was sent out odds-on favourite for Wednesday’s Prince Of Wales’s Stakes but was sensationally run down in the final strides by Rewilding.
Cummings, who watched the race on television, said his former charge looked as though he would strip fitter for the effort and appeared “slightly underdone”.
“I think he looked very well, he certainly will improve with the run,” Cummings said on Sky Sports Radio on Thursday.
“He overraced and was rather fresh … he pulled a little bit and he (jockey Ryan Moore) may have gone far too early.
“I think the horse will still improve greatly from that and the experience will educate (trainer Aidan) O’Brien about what the horse probably needs.”
O’Brien has taken the blame for So You Think’s defeat, admitting that in hindsight he doesn’t think he had the entire fit enough for the 2000m Group One race.
There has also been criticism in Australia of the role of the pacemaker, Jan Vermeer, a stablemate of So You Think, in bringing the champion undone.
Pacemakers are banned in Australia but are commonly used in England to ensure staying races are truly run.
“I think pacemakers are completely unnecessary and cause too much trouble. I think we’re on the right track in Australia barring that idea,” Cummings said.
Steven Arnold, who rode So You Think to his second Cox Plate victory last spring and finished third aboard him in the Melbourne Cup, said he was baffled as to why a pacemaker would be used when So You Think races on the speed.
“I suppose it works at times and it doesn’t at others. In my opinion if you’ve got a horse who races on the speed you want to get the softest run you can, not have to chase the horse and make it a real test,” Arnold said on Sky Sports Radio.
Arnold said he thought So You Think looked fit pre-race and was surprised he did not win.
“We all expected him to win, probably I expected him to win but that’s the game, that’s why we’re in it, it doesn’t work like that,” he said.
“Nothing’s a given. It’s a horse race, you’ve got to win it. I suppose they beat the rest by six lengths but take nothing away from the winner he did a good job.”
Arnold is in England where he rode Australian sprinter Star Witness into second in Tuesday’s King’s Stand Stakes (1000m) at Royal Ascot.
The Danny O’Brien-trained colt is on track to back up in Saturday’s Golden Jubilee Stakes (1200m).
AAP TURF
