So You Think X Gaya

Pound for pound, Joe Pride is considered one of the best trainers in Australia. From a medium-sized stable, Joe consistently wins major races.

Unlike most horse trainers, Joe does not hail from a family embedded in the racehorse industry. In fact, he initially studied psychology at Sydney University before his passion for racehorses took over.

He had to build his own legacy from the ground up and has enjoyed extraordinary success in a relatively short space of time. Joe’s swift rise to the top of Sydney’s training ranks can be attributed to a number of factors but none more so than the early influence of John Size. Joe spent four years with John at Randwick before being given a once in a lifetime opportunity. When John left for Hong Kong, he helped Joe establish a stable and clients which provided the platform from which his career would later flourish.

Now training at Warwick Farm, Joe has carved out a tremendously successful career with a reputation for being able to rejuvenate older horses, most notably dual-Group 1 winner Vision And Power. The son of Carnegie arrived at Joe’s stables with a record of 19 starts for one win and was coming off a 30 length defeat in a hurdle trial. Those who are familiar with the remarkable story will recall that Vision And Power won back-to-back Group 1’s in the George Ryder Stakes and Doncaster Mile only 18 months later. Those pair of Group 1’s were the horse’s ninth and tenth run of a preparation.

Joe has also been able to capture Group 1 wins with other tried horses such as Sacred Choice (2010 Myer Classic, 2011 Doncaster Handicap), Eduardo (2021 Galaxy, 2021 Doomben 10,000), Steps In Time (2014 Coolmore Classic) and Mariamia (2023 Galaxy).

Joe and Proven Thoroughbreds have celebrated multiple successes at the elite level together – highlighted by Think About It (2023 The Everest, 2023 Stradbroke Handicap, 2023 Kingsford Smith Cup) and Private Eye (2021 Epsom Handicap, 2022 Winners Stakes).

Trainers are working in close quarters with a variety of horses every day, so it is somewhat inevitable that they develop preferences for certain breeds.

Joe Pride, one of the more ‘hands-on’ trainers in Sydney, isn’t afraid to share his opinion on a sire’s progeny he’s had enough exposure to.

Just as there are breeds he will deliberately avoid, there are some he will walk over broken glass to get into his stable!

The sire at the very top of his list is SO YOU THINK. And not just because he trained a horse called THINK ABOUT IT to Everest glory and $12million in prizemoney. After all, it was back in 2020 when he first expressed a desire to train the then yearling colt.

Last Saturday at Randwick, Pride saddled up his 38th winner by SO YOU THINK – INVESTMENT (a $91 chance mind you).

Only one other trainer has prepared more career winners by SO YOU THINK than Pride. Hardly surprising to learn it is Chris Waller, who has four times the number of runners.

And SO YOU THINK is currently at the peak of his powers. The final Saturday of the season saw him bag 5 metropolitan winners plus Proven’s Inglis Xtra Maiden winner WILD THOUGHTS at Kembla. A fitting way to cap a term that has included stakes winners from 2 years old to 8 years old!