So You Think World Cup early favourite

Dual Cox Plate winner So You Think has been posted as early favourite by UK bookmakers for the $10m Dubai World Cup on March 31.

Trainer Aiden O’Brien hasn’t confirmed a start for So You Think at Meydan but speculation is rift that the six year old will be amongst the team he sends to Dubai for the World Cup Carnival.

O’Brien’s son Joseph is also rumoured to be the new rider for the former Bart Cummings’ trained stallion, taking over from Seamie Heffernan and Ryan Moore who have shared the riding since So You Think left Australia.

Heffernan has the best record aboard the six year old with three wins from four starts while Moore has one win from four.

Moore who has ridden So You Think at his last two starts has been committed to the Marco Botti trained Planteur in the World Cup opening up the door for Joseph O’Brien who regularly partners him in trackwork.

“As yet we’re not quite sure what’s going and what’s not going,” Joseph O’Brien said.

“I haven’t been told what I’ll be riding and all the horses still have a couple of pieces of work to be done.”

“Nothing is 100% certain to be going just yet.”

So You Think has won three Group 1 races for Aiden O’Brien in the UK and Ireland but hasn’t raced since finishing sixth in the Breeders Cup Classic (2010m) at Churchill Downs in Kentucky in November when racing on the dirt track for the first time.

The recently retired Cape Blanco was Aiden O’Brien’s first World Cup runner last year and he is keen to take a strong team to Dubai this year which is likely to include the Breeders Cup Turf winner St Nicolas Abbey in the Group 1 Sheema Classic.

So You Think was transferred out of the Cummings stable after the 2010 Melbourne Spring Carnival which saw him take out his second Cox Plate and a Mackinnon Stakes before finishing third to Americain in the  Group 1 $6m Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington.

 

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.