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| Staff Writer |
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Having bought his first racehorse in 1978 and then starting Proven Thoroughbreds in 2001, Jamie Walter has seen some smart horses in the black and lime green colours. They include Private Eye, a half-length runner-up in The Everest in 2022. The gelding is yet to get a slot in 2023, but Walter believes they also have a strong chance in Think About It, who already has a berth.
"Hes so lightly raced - he's only had ten starts and won nine of them. He's a very exciting horse." His only defeat came at Warwick Farm in August 2022 when he found himself too far back in the field to get any closer than third place by the time the line came. It has been a slight surprise to connections that he has as much speed as he does.
"He's not really bred to be a sprinter. There are some speedy horses in his pedigree, but to look at the horse physically and to look at his pedigree would suggest that he's a middle-distance horse."
His dam is a half-sister to Group One placed sprinter Keen Array but Think About It is by So You Think, who was a multiple Group One winner over 2000m and a 3rd placed finisher in the Melbourne Cup before heading to Europe. It is easy to understand precisely where Walter is coming from in his opinion on the pedigree.
There has been plenty of experience that Walter has gained around the world before returning to set up Proven Thoroughbreds and turn them into a successful syndicate. Time spent with Neil Drysdale in the USA and Mark Tompkins in Newmarket, England, has given Walter a wide range of knowledge regarding a horse and how to spot one at a lesser price.
Think About It only cost $70,000 at the 2020 Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale. That now seems a bargain price, given the form he has in the book under the custody of trainer Joe Pride. And as Walter says on the Proven Thoroughbred website, luck and hard work are more likely to produce a good horse than any magical formula or self-perceived gift.
The most impressive part of Think About It's makeup is that "he seems to be able to maintain top speed for longer than most horses." It is a strength that has already seen him twice successful at Group One level. He won the Kingsford Smith Cup at Eagle Farm in May, following up in the Stradbroke Handicap at the same track the next month.
Walter is not afraid of comparing with some of the greats when talking about his latest star sprinter. He jokes that some may say he should wash his mouth with soap, but it is hard not to compare when you are associated with a horse as good as Think About It could be.
"I can remember Hugh Bowman (talking about Winx), and he said, 'She just has this ability to find that extra gear when she needs to.' And I think that's what Think About It has."
Walter is not saying that he thinks his horse is anywhere close to as good as Winx but rather that he is capable of holding his top speed for much longer than most horses who can only perhaps run 150m at full tilt, while Bowman always said Winx could do it for 400m.
That trait is one that only the very best have at their disposal, marking Think About It down as an exceptional horse. His jockey Sam Clipperton first said he could maintain that speed for a long time. It is undoubtedly a big weapon to travel into a race in such a manner.
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Think About It is a high-energy horse. Walter explained that his excitement starts to build when the saddle goes on him. He is a horse who wants to get on with his job, a quality which cannot be underestimated in any horse, the will to win.
"We're still learning about him…at this point in the horse's life, the world's his oyster. We don't know what his optimum distance is going to be and where or when he's going to stop winning." That is the exciting thing for those who are part of the syndicate, after only ten races, there is plenty of potential still to come from him.
Private Eye should not be the forgotten horse for The Everest. He was below his best when last in action, but he had a slight issue with a knee and will be back this spring with sights firmly set on gaining a berth in the race.
Walter is under no illusion that Private Eye will have to put in at least one big performance, if not two, in the lead-up to The Everest if he is to gain that berth and try to go one place better than last year.
He is another horse who Walter did not have pegged as a sprinter. The winner of the Epsom at Randwick in 2021 over 1600m, he stepped up to 2000m at Flemington to run a solid 5th in the MacKinnon.
The Everest was an afterthought, and the invite was only taken up because of the race's prestige. It is a race that has quickly established itself over a short history and a contest that Walter has changed his mind on.
"I've had to completely do a 360-degree turn on the Everest. I thought it was a gimmick, but now I think it's one of the best races in the world."
It takes a brave man to admit when they are wrong, and the esteem in which Walter holds the race will go up a further notch if Proven Thoroughbreds can have the 2023 winner in their ranks courtesy of either Private Eye or Think About It.
By Scott McGlynn