So You Think will make his European debut in the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes at Newbury on May 14.

Trainer Aidan O’Brien has taken So You Think along steadily in the lead-up to his first northern campaign.  “He looks an unbelievable horse,” O’Brien said when the Australian champion arrived in Ireland in January.  “We’re looking forward to racing him this year.”

O’Brien trained his sire High Chaparral to G1 triumphs in the English and Irish Derbies as well as two editions of the Breeders’ Cup Turf.  The Ballydoyle boss has a history of turning Australian imports into Group 1 winners in Europe – Starspangledbanner (Golden Jubilee & July Cup) and Haradasun (Queen Anne Stakes) readily spring to mind.

So You Think (5h High Chaparral – Triassic by Tights) won 8 of his 12 starts in Australia including two Cox Plates.  After finishing third in the 2011 Melbourne Cup, managing part-owner Dato Tan Chin Nam agreed to sell a controlling interest to Coolmore Stud in a deal that valued the horse around AUD 58 million.

So You Think was bred at Windsor Park and was a $110,000 buy at the 2008 New Zealand Bloodstock Premier Sale.  He was bred by Windsor Park’s Mike Moran and his wife Helen in partnership with Piper Farm’s Alex and Cecile Smith.

O’Brien has also nominated Cape Blanco and Jan Vermeer for the Lockinge.  Other high-profile entries include the Richard Hannon trained stars Dick Turpin and Canford Cliffs.  Hannon won the 2010 Lockinge with Paco Boy who will shuttle to Waikato Stud later this year.