The Coolmore stallion has established himself among Australia's best sires and this season has seen him produce a career-high nine stakes winners, including G1 Australian Derby winner Quick Thinker, who became his third Group 1-winning son, and his sixth Group 1 winner overall.
That tally of nine stakes winners puts So You Think equal fourth in all Australian-based sires, level with barnmate Pierro and behind only Snitzel, I Am Invincible and Exceed And Excel. Currently 12th in the Australian Sires' Table, his progeny have already had their best season in terms of prizemoney and are on track to set a new best in terms of total winners, with 102 to date.
Standing at $38,500 (inc GST) in 2020, he had his biggest ever book last year of 234 mares and is poised to be very popular again.
With such a buzz around So You Think as a sire, it wasn't surprising to see D'Argento snapped up to stand in Australia, with Bowness Stud winning the rights to stand him.
So You Think (NZ) | Standing at Coolmore
D'Argento's race performance, which saw him win a G1 Rosehill Guineas and place in both a G1 Epsom H. and a G1 Winx S., under Chris Waller's care, combined with a strong pedigree on both sides made him an excellent stallion prospect.
He was set to be sold to New Zealand, but when that fell through, Bowness Stud's Principal John North swooped to get the deal done with the stallion's owners at Star Thoroughbreds.
"We wanted to find a horse that we thought would give people plenty to talk about, without compromising any quality. We just thought he was the ideal horse that fitted the bill for the Australian marketplace," North told TDN AusNZ.
D'Argento will stand at Bowness Stud this year
North said the combination of D'Argento's race performance and pedigree made him an ideal prospect for the Young-based stud.
"His sire, So You Think is riding the crest of a wave at the moment. He was the first stallion full in Australia this year. He was really oversubscribed. He's out of a Redoute's Choice mare owned by Gerry Harvey who was a precocious 2-year-old," he said.
"His sire, So You Think is riding the crest of a wave at the moment. He was the first stallion full in Australia this year." - John North
"His highest rated form performances were over 1400 metres to a mile and he just ticked all the boxes for us in terms of what we look for in a stallion. He had a terrific finishing speed. He's got pedigree and he's got form around the best of his generation.
"Chris Waller kept him racing mainly in the Group 1 and Group 2s and with a bit of luck he could have knocked off a couple more Group 1s. He also won two races as a 2-year-old, giving that profile of early and precocious speed.
"So You Think is showing that he can get early speed horses too. Gerald Ryan trains horses for us and he's got Peltzer who has won his first three and he rates him right up there with his best horses."
High Chaparral sireline shines through
It is not only So You Think who is hot as a stallion at the moment. His own sire, High Chaparral (Ire), is having a major influence on breeding in this part of the world, with five sons standing in Australia this season and six in New Zealand.
Arrowfield Stud's Dundeel (NZ) is recognised as one of the brightest young stallion prospects in the land, with four Group 1 winners and 10 stakes winners from just three crops to the track. He has had his Group 1-winning sons Castelvecchio and Super Seth retire to stud at Arrowfield and Waikato Stud respectively this season.
The late High Chaparral (Ire)
Toronado (Ire) is another son of High Chaparral also making a major impression at Victoria's Swettenham Stud with 49 winners in Australia from two crops.
Bowness Stud has also harnessed success from High Chaparral's bloodlines, having produced the Group 1-winning filly Youngstar by the sire. She is out of the imported Danehill (USA) mare Starspangled (Ire), also the dam of another Bowness product and Group 1 winner in Funstar (Adelaide {Ire}).
A stallion to suit to the band
Four out of So You Think's six Group 1 winners are out of Danehill-line mares and the success of that cross was something which was part of North's thinking when looking for a stallion which would suit his own significant band of broodmares at Bowness.
"We've got a lot of Danehill-line mares, and while D'Argento is out of a Redoute's Choice mare, the Danehill goes back another generation or two and he'll suit those horses," he said.
"We’ve also got a lot of mares by More Than Ready and Shamardal as well as Savabeel and those top line of stallions. We think he will suit those lines very much."
Bon Hoffa | Standing at Bowness Stud
D'Argento joins Bon Hoffa in standing at Bowness, with North saying the nature of the times necessitated the stud standing a new stallion once again.
"We live in uncertain times and we needed to create some certainty because we have a very large pool of well-bred young mares and the cost of sending them all out is going to be prohibitive for us. We needed to make a good commercial decision and try and find the right horse," he said.
"We needed to make a good commercial decision and try and find the right horse." - John North
"Star Thoroughbreds are a racing operation, not a breeding operation, and they needed a stud with high profile, with a record of producing superior horses. We have had three Group 1 winners out of here in the past three years and our record is pretty good.
"We are getting a lot of very favourable comments already. A lot of the selling agents have congratulated us already and told us they love the horse."
John North with Bon Hoffa
SYT halo extends to Inference
The other son of So You Think to stand in Australia is Inference, who enters his third season at Chatswood Stud in Victoria.
Chatswood's Nic Willis said the recent success of So You Think was definitely a boost to the profile of Inference, who was both his sire's first Australian winner and his first Group 1 winner.
"Every single Inference parade that we do, the breeder will say what a resemblance he has to So You Think. He is getting a lot of business on the back of his sire. We're pretty happy to see D'Argento get a home. He's red hot So You Think and so that has been helping," Willis said.
"Every single Inference parade that we do, the breeder will say what a resemblance he has to So You Think. He is getting a lot of business on the back of his sire." - Nic Willis
"His stats have been very strong all the way through. When we went to look at Inference and buy him, we looked at So You Think's stats and they were strong back then, not that much different to where he is now. I think people may be paying attention a bit more."
Willis agreed that the prominence of the other members of the High Chaparral line was also lending credibility to those stallions who didn’t necessarily fit into the 'fast and early' mould, which has very much been de rigueur in Australia this century.
Inference | Standing at Chatswood Stud
"People seem to be coming around to those type of stallions a bit more. With the High Chaps doing so well, there is no real fear in standing a stallion like that now," he said.
Inference himself has his price slightly cut to $6600 (inc GST), something which reflects the nature of the COVID-19 environment and not his likely popularity.
Having served over 100 mares in his first two seasons, Inference is set for his biggest book of mares in 2020.
"He got over 100 last year, which we were really happy with and we think his third season will be his biggest book. Maybe because of that So You Think success, the attention has turned on him a bit," he said.
"We think his third season will be his biggest book. Maybe because of that So You Think success, the attention has turned on him a bit." - Nic Willis
"We are trying to get as much support to him as possible and we are doing that to see if he can succeed. He's getting every opportunity."
Helping the cause has been the impression Inference's first foals are making as they approach their first birthday.
"They are a bit stronger than he himself was. He was a very classy, refined type himself Inference. His foals are really strong and we've had both Magic Millions and Inglis reps call in the past week saying they have heard good things," Willis said.
