Winner of last year’s Group I ATC Australian Derby, quality stayer Quick Thinker hit top form on the first day of The Championships at Randwick to win the Group II ATC Chairmans Quality (2600m).
Trained by Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman, Quick Thinker had been winless since his Derby triumph, but came into this race rock hard fit and recaptured his best form for Damian Lane to hold off a determined challenge from Rondinella.
Quick Thinker loomed into the race with a big run over the final two furlongs and dug deep to beat the mare by a long neck
The Group I ATC Sydney Cup (3200m) next week is the goal for Quick Thinker, now that he’s back in form with co-trainer Andrew Forsman putting his improvement down to the track conditions and his fitness.
“Obviously the track was quite testing. They were under the pump a fair way out there and he was still travelling quite well. Definitely the track conditions (Soft 7) have played into his hands,” Forsman said.
"He had a really searching gallop on Tuesday morning and he had a good blow after it. His gallop on Thursday was really good, and I thought that work gave us a bit of confidence going into it."
Running in the OTI Racing colours for a big group of owners, Quick Thinker has the overall record of five wins and four placings from 18 starts with prizemoney in excess of $1.2million.
Quick Thinker was a $100,000 Inglis Easter purchase from the Coolmore draft for De Burgh Equine and was bred by Bowcock Bloodstock.
He was actually bought as a pinhook by James Bester Bloodstock from the Holbrook draft at the Magic Millions National Weanling Sale for $180,000 and it’s one of the anomalies of bloodstock that he should be resold for $80,000 less and turn out to be a Group I winning $1.2million earner!
The yearling sale was no doubt painful at the time, but James no doubt takes consolation from being vindicated that Quick Thinker is in fact a very good horse.
Quick Thinker is a half-brother to recent Group III winner Seasons and Group III placed The August being from stakes-placed Al Maher mare Acouplamas, who comes from the family of Group I classic winners Blackfriars and Larrocha.
Acouplamas has a colt by Trapeze Artist last spring and is now in foal to The Autumn Sun.
Quick Thinker is the tenth Australian stakes-winner this season for So You Think, whose stock averaged $344,615 at Inglis Easter highlighted by a $1million colt from Martilago.
