So You Think ran his last race in Australia when third in the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday.  Owner Dato Tan Chin Nam has agreed to sell a controlling interest in the four year-old to Coolmore Stud.

The deal is believed to value the dual Cox Plate winner between $30 million and $40 million.

Dato Tan Chin Nam’s racing manager Duncan Ramage said there were still protocols to be completed before the deal is sealed.  “They are going to race and breed the horse as a joint venture,” he said on Wednesday.  “Coolmore would like to race the horse in Europe and we would have to take that into consideration.”

So You Think (High Chaparral) will be transferred from Bart Cummings to the Ballydoyle yard of Coolmore trainer Aidan O’Brien in the next few weeks.  

“The sale is a great tragedy for Australian racing,” Cummings counter claimed.  “We need a champion like So You Think to keep the public’s interest in the sport.  It’s a bit like Phar Lap during the Depression – people love this horse.

“You would have to ask Dato why he’s done it.  He doesn’t need the money.  So You Think is still improving and could have come back in the autumn and won the Australian Cup, Ranvet Stakes and The BMW.”

Coolmore purchased champion Australian sprinter Starspangledbanner earlier this year and transferred him to Ballydoyle.  The Choisir colt won the G1 Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot and the GI July Cup at Newmarket.

So You Think has won 8 of his 12 starts and his career earnings shot past $5.50 million with the $450,000 he collected from his placing in the Melbourne Cup.