Still thinking big
In a frantic finish, Pegasus had his wings clipped but, through some stark admissions and self-deprecating remarks from trainer Aidan O'Brien and owner John Magnier, faith was somehow restored and the wings were back on.
It wasn't the horse's fault, we heard. It wasn't the jockey's fault either. And it wasn't pacemaker Jan Vermeer's fault. Because So You Think had done things so easily in his first two outings of the season, his trainer blamed himself for leaving the five-year-old short of work. Owner John Magnier suggested it was a culmination of numerous factors.
Still, it was disappointing that the horse that had galloped so relentlessly to the line in two admittedly soft Group races at the Curragh could not fend off the rush of Rewilding - a colt that stayed on to finish a well-beaten third behind Workforce in last year's Epsom Derby and which, on the back of a subsequent victory in the Great Voltigeur, announced himself as a stayer of some repute, but never as a ten-furlong horse.
In defence of the runner-up, Rewilding is a horse who looked booked for late development and has always been best fresh. He was well prepared for the Royal Ascot battle and time may reveal that this was not such a disastrous defeat as connections of So You Think may believe.
What was most striking about the post-race interviews was not the words the Ballydoyle team chose but the palpable disbelief that the colt had been beaten - something which was written all over their faces.
It's all too easy to be cynical and suggest that Coolmore's talking up of So You Think is all hype for a horse that could be a vital cog in the breeding wheel of the future but the firm that has flexed its muscles so effectively in Ireland and Britain this season has not been getting it wrong recently and they're not just hoping for victory in today's Coral Eclipse at Sandown - they're expecting it.
Despite the presence of Pour Moi, Treasure Beach, Fame And Glory, Roderic O'Connor, Canford Cliffs and many more track stars, So You Think is the showcase racehorse for Coolmore right now and another defeat would be devastating to his reputation.
Jockey Seamie Heffernan, who guided the five-year-old to his first victory on Irish soil in the Mooresbridge Stakes, renews racecourse association with the horse and is really looking forward to the race.
"I'm really looking forward to getting the leg-up on him again in what is a very good race," said Heffernan. "I just don't think things went right for him at Ascot and I'm hoping things go a bit smoother.
"We think the run at Ascot will have brought him on. He hasn't really done enough at home since then to tell us whether he's improved or not, but we hope he will have done.
"He's an absolutely gorgeous horse. We know it's going to be a tough race but we're hopeful we can come out on top.
"I wouldn't have any worries about the ground. Good horses like him normally handle any conditions."
