So You Think wins Mackinnon Stakes in style
So You Think moved another step closer to a magnificent treble when he won the Grade One Mackinnon Stakes at Flemington.
Having already defended his title in the Grade One Cox Plate the previous Saturday So You Think will now be stepped up to two miles by his trainer Bart Cummings to tackle the main event, the Melbourne Cup, on Tuesday. If the four-year-old was to pull off that mighty hat-trick he would be the first to do so since Rising Fast in 1954 and perhaps put his name in the same league as that of the great Phar Lap who also won the same races in 1930.
Cummings, who will be attempting an incredible 13th victory in the Melbourne Cup, has set this arduous programme because he believes So You Think needs the racing to get him truly seasoned for the rigours of the great staying handicap. The trouble is that the horse is not helping him by winning these prep races quite so easily.
Steven Arnold (pictured) was riding the colt for the fifth time and has yet to be beaten and, like the Cox Plate, hardly had to work that hard for his riding fee.
Arnold had So You Think sitting in third behind Ginga Dude and Descarado. The main problem for the jockey was to contain the exuberance of So You Think – which may more of a problem over the Cup distance – but the colt did settle in fourth until Arnold made his move with about 300 metres to run.
Well, the rest were running, but So You Think was just cruising under little more than a hand drive from Arnold to win by three-and-a-quarter lengths from Descarardo, with Ginga Dude another one-and-a-half lengths back in third.
Shocking, who will be defending his title in Cup in four day's time, finished a creditable sixth but one horse who will not be making the line-up will be Metal Bender, will faces a three-month ban after bleeding from both nostrils in the Mackinnon.
Cummings – winning his 10th Mackinnon - is also on the easy list again, currently in hospital recovering from a respiratory condition but is expected to be released shortly, but his assistant, Reg Fleming, said that the trainer is not concerned about the extra six furlongs of the Cup. "He's a strong horse, I don't think it will be a problem," Fleming said.
However, Arnold was not quite so sure but is a believer now. “He was unbelievable today," he said. "I wasn't positive about him running two miles, but I am now. He relaxed so well during the race and was very strong at the finish. He relaxed so well and was so strong late. I reckon today was a real positive. Today I just wanted to wait a bit longer and he actually had a look around at the furlong, he's an awesome horse.”
Awesome or not there will still be a big field looking to take So You Think on and Maluckyday, trained by Michael, Wayne and John Hawkes and ridden Jim Cassidy, grabbed his ticket for the big race with a thunderous victory in the Group Three Lexus Stakes.
On just his eighth career start, Maluckyday came from nearly last to first to collar Once Were Wild in the last 150 metres and beat Linton by one-and-three-quarter lengths.
In the other Group One highlight on the card, the Victoria Derby, Lion Tamer, trained by Murray and Bjorn Baker and ridden Hugh Bowman, chalked up a victory for New Zealand as he beat Praecido by six-and-a-half lengths.
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