Conservative Coolmore misses the Arc

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and it’s possible jockey Seamie Heffernan might regret going back on So You Think in the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (2400m, Longchamp) last night.

So You Think sat near last on a fast pace – set by his stablemates – but at no stage did he get into the race to look a winning chance. He got home late for fourth behind the brilliant German filly Danedream, who smashed the Arc race record (her time was 2 min 24.29 secs) in winning by five lengths.

So good was Danedream that the best So You Think could have hoped for was second, and, maybe, with a clearer run that’s probably where he deserved to finish.

Would he have won the Arc by going forward from his wide draw? I don’t know, and despite the rumblings of the couch tacticians on Twitter, nobody really knows.

I can understand why trainer Aidan O’Brien and Heffernan went back at the start. The Arc has a history of being run at a cracking pace and they didn’t want to “cook” So You Think and leave nothing for the finish. The way the race was run, I reckon O’Brien and his jockey would have been pleased with their decision at the half-way mark.

However, the European training style probably cost So You Think at the end. He just didn’t have the ping, the acceleration that we were accustomed to seeing when he raced in Australia. It was a grinding effort – he kept coming as he was entitled to do after such a cosy run – but showed none of the turn-of-foot that he displayed winning last year’s Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley.

What disappointed me about the performance was the fact that So You Think travelled sweetly at the back of the field, and then made ground at the 600m to tack on to the back of Snow Fairy (third), the mare he held out at Leopardstown at his previous start. So You Think is a better horse than Snow Fairy on any day, but not at Longchamp.

The pair came on through the field together and Snow Fairy still had a distinct three quarters of a length advantage on So You Think at the finish. All the big horse could gain on the mare in the final 600 metres was about a half length.

Yes hindsight is a wonderful thing. The Arc was to be So You Think’s grand final, and perhaps it was the race to be daring and brave, to leave nothing to chance, not do die wondering what could have been.

Unfortunately, that’s not the nature of the protectionists at Coolmore and Ballydoyle, where reputations must be maintained and not put at risk even for an important, historical race like the Arc. It’s safety first for the stallions of the future and the value of their important service fees.

O’Brien said after the race that the Breeders’ Cup (2000m, Churchill Downs) on dirt was a possibility for So You Think. “He’s a big cruiser and I think he would handle the dirt no problem,” he said.

It’s a pity we didn’t see the free-running horse strut his stuff at Longchamp, but let’s hope O’Brien and senior owner John Magnier let him rip at Churchill Downs.