Faith, resolve and a dash of daring.
Think It Over’s Queen Elizabeth Stakes triumph had a bit of everything.
The race was expected to be a clash of the titans – Horse Of The Year Verry Elleegant taking on rising stars Duais, Anamoe, Zaaki and Montefilia.
Sydney’s pin-up horse of the spring, Think It Over was widely regarded as a bit player, his dislike for wet tracks seeing him drift to start at $41.
But trainer Kerry Parker’s faith in the horse never wavered, he remained steadfast in his resolve that Think It Over could win.
And a masterstroke from Nash Rawiller sealed the deal.
“You know those good ones can find a way to win, can’t they?” Rawiller said.
“I trotted down the outside fence going to the barriers on one of them earlier in the day and thought ‘I’ll keep this up my sleeve for later’.”
Sticking to Parker’s tactics to put Think It Over on-speed, Rawiller sat outside leader Zaaki and when the field balanced for home, he made his move.
Hooking Think It Over to the left and steering him to the outside fence in search of better ground, Rawiller asked the gelding for a supreme effort.
Think It Over responded and through sheer heart and willpower, he ground down Zaaki and won by a half-length.
It is a ride that will be remembered and recounted for years to come, but Rawiller says this win isn’t about him.
“I don’t want to carry on about what I did, it’s all about Kerry Parker and his team down at Kembla Grange,” he said.
“To come around and win this big race, it’s one in a million and he’s pulled it off today. It was unreal.”
One of racing’s nice guys, Parker said he never gave up hope Think It Over could beat the odds.
There was never a thought of scratching because of the wet track, instead a reliance on the horse’s “guts and will to win”.
“I kept saying, I’m not giving up the fight,” Parker said.
“It’s sensational. When everyone writes him off that’s when he is at his best. Him and I both.
“None of us came here thinking we couldn’t win.
“You don’t pull the pin in your grand final. If I did, no-one would have seen that today.”
Zaaki looked to have pinched the race when he booted clear at the top of the straight and was brave in defeat with Mount Poppa running the race of his life for third.
The backmarkers never featured, Verry Elleegant finishing fifth and Duais seventh, while Montefilia knocked up to beat only Anamoe home.
But in the end, Parker and Rawiller gave them all pause to think it over.
