It’s taken some time for Think It Over to earn the respect he deserves and trainer Kerry Parker is happy to suggest he’s taking the horse to beat into Saturday’s Group 1 $1m Ranvet Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill.
Five years ago he won a Class 2 at Hawkesbury, three years ago he won the George Ryder as a $26 chance, of course he won the Queen Elizabeth two years ago at $41 prior to his 18 month absence through injury.
But Kerry Parker's marvel has shown this season he's arguably a greater force and the Kembla Grange trainer is bullish on the back of beating Fangirl in the Group 1 Verry Elleegant Stakes (1600m) three weeks ago.
"They think he's a giant killer, I just think he's a giant,'' Parker said.
"He's as good as them every day of the week.
"It's all about keeping him in a good frame of mind, once you get the fitness up it's about letting him be in a good place mentally and the rest is up to him.
"They'll want to be on their game but so does he, he's got to turn up and do it again."
Think It Over headed the Ranvet market at $3 with TAB on Wednesday despite the presence of a potential international 'giant' in Via Sistina.
Parker said the eight-year-old has continued to improve with his two runs back and slightly changed his routing to include an exhibition gallop between races at Kembla Grange last Friday under race jockey Nash Rawiller.
"I let him tell me how hard I've got to work him,'' he said.
"This is a bit different he galloped on Friday, I just take each step as it comes and whatever work he needs we do.
"Nash rode him in the gallop on Friday and the horse looked to work super, and he pulled up well from it. It was just a day out at the races to keep him ticking over mentally.
"He enjoyed it, he just strutted around like he was on show. He was having a day out, he was so well behaved and cruisy."
The Ranvet, as it often is, promises to be a tactical affair with a select field and that's where Parker has confidence in Rawiller to get it right when it counts – as he's so often done on the gelding.
In the Queen Elizabeth two years ago he skirted the outside fence to find the best ground, last start he cut the corner and established a break on Fangirl before he'd asked for the supreme effort.
"That's just Nash, he just does that. While a horse is on the bit they can travel through a bit lesser ground. By the time he was coming off the bit he was down the middle of the track,'' he said.
"In any race, if you're trying to win a maiden at Moruya if things go wrong you don't win.
"Let's hope it doesn't get right in that heavy range. I know he won the Queen Elizabeth on a heavy but I think that was more what stayed on the bit and travelled, a lot of wet trackers didn't handle it that day."
Rosehill is likely to be in the soft range and that would suit Parker and allow Rawiller to give Think It Over every chance.
Think It Over is on the second line of betting for the Group 1 $5 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick on April 13.
