Arnold reflects on So You Think

Sunday, 8 July 2012:

Steven Arnold doubts he'll ever find another So You Think even though believes the 10-time Group One winner can be as successful in the stallion barn as he has been on the track.

So You Think, who Arnold rode throughout a memorable Melbourne spring campaign in 2010, was officially retired from racing last week after he pulled a muscle in his hind quarter just days out from his intended swan song in the Group One Eclipse Stakes.

The dual Cox Plate winner will return to Australia from Europe to stand at Coolmore this spring and Arnold can see no reason why the champion galloper will not be a success.

"Obviously with Coolmore he'll get every chance to leave some nice horses," Arnold said.

"I'm getting pretty old so I don't know if I'll be riding too many of them but hopefully I will.

"He's probably the best looking horse I've ridden so you would think he'll produce a few nice horses.

"I hope he does really well. He's a really nice type of horse and he had good speed, so I think that contributes to their ability as a stallion."

Arnold is in his late 30s and stands taller than any other jockey riding at the top level in Australia.

Before So You Think, Arnold's headline horse was sprinter Scenic Blast who he rode to Group One wins in Australia and Royal Ascot.

He got the nod to ride So You Think in his six-start spring campaign of 2010 which netted five wins, four at Group One level, including a second Cox Plate.

The then Bart Cummings-trained So You Think won the Memsie Stakes (1400m) first-up from a long lay-off before Group One wins in the Underwood Stakes (1800m), Caulfield Stakes (2000m), Cox Plate (2040m) and Mackinnon Stakes (2000m).

He rounded out that campaign with a game third in the Melbourne Cup (3200m) before Dato Tan Chin Nam sold a controlling interest in So You Think to Coolmore.

So You Think added five more Group Ones in Europe under the care of Aidan O'Brien including his final start in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes (2000m) at Royal Ascot.

For Arnold, his association with So You Think that spring has provided memories to last a lifetime.

"Obviously the horse is pretty special to me and I probably won't find another one like him. Hopefully I do, but probably I won't," he said.

"To win a Cox Plate is every jockey's dream. He had a great spring and was just a beautiful horse to be associated with.

"I'll always have fond memories of him."

AAP