Had to do some work recently that meant, among other things, looking back at So You Think's career. Bringing up an old one here, but by god I wish they had kept this horse to 8-10F in Europe, instead of going on some ill thought out 2400m, to 2000m to dirt to tapeta campaign.

If he doesnt get cut off in the POW by his pacemaker and then Moore goes on him way too early.

If they had have kept him fresh for Champions Day, instead of pouring in the work to turn him into a 2400m horse for the Arc.

If they had gone for the Breeders Cup Turf (instead of saving SNA for it - a horse he had already beaten), which in a race you cant stretch a 2000m horse out to (tight track), instead of putting him onto the dirt. Dirt kils atrium of foot (look at Roaring Lion this year). And then chuck blinkers on him so he pulls himself into the ground. Heroic in running as well as he did.

Then top it off by going to Dubai onto the tapeta (would have walked the Dubai Turf).

I really do like Aiden OB as a trainer, but it was a train wreck to watch.

But it was great to see him looking more like a bull, and back to somewhere near his best for the final couple of runs.

Great little article this one. At least AOB was big enough to admit it was one disaster after another

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So You Think Back to His Best in Prince of Wales's Stakes
20/06/12

1 So You Think 4/5 Fav
2 Carlton House 7/2
3 Farhh 6/1
11 ran Distances: 2¼l, ½l, nk
TIME 2m 3.86s (fast by 1.74s)

Aidan O'Brien's So You Think recorded his 10th Group One victory in the 150th Anniversary of Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot.

So You Think
© Racehorse Photos

So You Think
Trainer O’Brien blamed himself for not getting the best out of So You Think earlier, after the former Australian superstar looked back to his very best when winning by two and a quarter lengths.

“We felt that we had this horse in a place that he had never been before with us,” said O’Brien. “We have had him a year and a half and it has taken me a year and a half to learn how to train him. We’re just pleased to now have him in the place where everyone in Australia said he was. He’s one of those special horses and I’d like to say sorry to all the Australian people that I’ve made such a mess of it for so long. We were rightly getting a fair hammering from people in Australia but we needed to pull our socks up.

“I was probably working him too often, too long and too hard. I was killing him by making him grind but even so he was still very competitive.

“We went back, we listened to everybody, including all the interviews, and what Bart (Cummings) was saying in Australia about him - the things to do and the things not to do. We review everything, took all of the information and it probably took me a year and six months to start listening.

“We listened to it at the end and everybody at home got it together. We felt that he was in a place today where he had never been before with us, so obviously we are delighted. I was delighted to hear (Bart’s comments) because he was speaking from the heart and I was probably over-working the horse and galloping the speed out of him instead of letting it be natural.

“Joseph was very much of the opinion that he was going to ride him that way and wait. Everybody was of the opinion that he was all speed before he came to us and I suppose that I set off on the wrong leg with him - started trying to make him stay a mile and probably worked him too long, too often.

“It is often a hard thing. We knew that we only had a few runs left and we knew that he had run in all the top races but there was just that little thing missing. We knew that we only had maybe today and Sandown to get it back, so we listened. Joseph and the lads were confident that it was going to come but you can’t be confident until it comes.

“The boys will talk about (the Coral-Eclipse at) Sandown and they will make the decision. We had in our head that Sandown would be the cut-off point but we will obviously be pleading now that we have him in a different place. It will be a big business decision but we are just delighted that we have got him back to where Bart had him and what all of the people in Australia said he was.

So You Think has been advertised for a fee of AUS$66,000 for the 2012 southern hemisphere breeding season at Coolmore Australia and part-owner John Magnier said: “He looks a picture and is a horse that travels all over the world. He won three Group Ones last year, two this season and 10 overall so I say to people what more could you want? It’s hard to work in two hemispheres, they are completely different environments.

“Aidan’s been happier with this horse this year than he has ever been I think the Eclipse will be next and the plan will be to go to Australia after that, he’s probably done enough racing after that.”