Heffernan gets flak Down Under

RACING:REPORTS IN Australia indicate So You Think could race on in 2012 as the fallout from the horse's fourth placing in Sunday's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp continues to reverberate Down Under.

Jockey Séamie Heffernan attracted criticism for his ride on the Aidan O’Brien-trained star who raced at the back of the field for much of the race but failed to quicken up enough off a fast pace to land a blow against the easy winner Danedream.

So You Think, a duel-Cox Plate winner in Australia before transferring to Europe after being purchased by Coolmore, has been installed a 5 to 1 second favourite in some ante-post lists for next month’s Breeders’ Cup Classic on dirt but also has the option of tackling Saturday week’s Champion Stakes at Ascot.

However, Coolmore’s Australian spokesman, Tom Magnier, has indicated the horse could also remain in training next year.

“The horse is only lightly raced and we feel he can win the big Group 1 races next year,” Magnier was quoted as saying in an Australian report.

Heffernan has drawn flak for not taking a more prominent position in the early stages of the Arc but a high draw didn’t help the Irish jockey and there has also been support for his efforts on the ex-Australian star.

Under a headline “World’s best expose So You Think’s flaws in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe,” the Herald Sun newspaper in Melbourne stated: “So You Think did not win the Arc and the hullabaloo has been as inevitable as the defeat.”

It argued: “When he drew 14 of 16 for the Arc, a traditionally brutally run world championship, jockey Séamie Heffernan faced an ultimatum and, ultimately, just one road map.

“To go forward would have been suicide. They ran the quickest time in Arc history. Had Heffernan exploded from the gates, So You Think would have been a sitting duck, especially given that doubt at the distance.

“The problem with So You Think’s global odyssey is that we have expected the world from a horse we had arrogantly assumed would win everything. Coolmore created a deft campaign designed to hide So You Think’s small flaws and protect his immense value.

“Half of his races have been Group Threes disguised as Group Ones. In Paris, there was nowhere to hide. He has now been beaten twice and we have blamed tactical incompetence and not the limitations of a great horse who, against the world’s elite, is merely competitive.

“It is a dull inferiority complex that desperately seeks out culprits when there are none.”

Danedream, who came out of the race well, could have one more run this year with options of the Filly and Mare and Turf races at the Breeders’ Cup.