Mike Martin's not just pushing his own barrow when he says So You Think could be the biggest advertisement for the New Zealand thoroughbred industry in decades.

Martin, as chief executive of the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, is one of the prime promoters for the Kiwi product.

But, incredibly, just like he and his wife Susan Archer bred former champion galloper Sunline, the pair can also claim to having bred Triassic, the dam of now Irish-based star So You Think.

And, while So You Think suffered his first defeat at Royal Ascot last week, caught late after a thrilling tussle down the home stretch, Martin and a legion of newly won northern hemisphere fans are still predicting huge things to come.

And it's not just because they believe So You Think was pipped in the Prince Of Wales Stakes by Rewilding only because his jockey Frankie Dettori whipped him 24 times in the last two furlongs, earning a nine-day suspension.

Champion Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien blamed himself for the loss, apologising for not having the horse fit enough, and promising fans would see a much-improved version next time out.

Martin is in no doubt So You Think is poised to supersede Sunline as our best overseas ambassador.

"Sunline was our best advertisement when she won the Hong Kong Mile in 2000, one of the most high-profile 1600-metre races in the world, then ran that brave third in Dubai.

"The foot-and-mouth outbreak that year prevented her from going on to England but this horse is doing the job there now.

"Any New Zealand horse that can perform internationally at that level is hugely important for us – it gives international credibility to our Group racing.

"He's won a Group One in Ireland already and hopefully he will win one in England.

"That would stamp southern hemisphere group racing, which is important in our big markets like Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia."

Success by So You Think would almost certainly attract northern hemisphere buyers to our sales.

"We have a growing international market for our horses and how this horse performs will be crucial for us."

Martin said the picture he had hanging on his office wall of former globetrotting Kiwi champion Balmerino running second to Alleged in the 1977 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, was testament to how important he believed headline races like that were.

"If this horse can go on and win the Arc, then so much the better for everyone."

A weanling at foot, Triassic was sold along with a number of other broodmares when their seven-year Fencourt Farm partnership expired in the 1980s.

While Triassic's dam Astral Row was a fast racehorse, who won five races, "it was just another Waikato family," Martin recalled.

They'd chosen Tights to mate with Astral Row because he produced good-looking foals, with particularly nice heads.

- Sunday Star Times

Sourced from: http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/racing/5164167/So-You-Think-pin-up-boy-for-Kiwi-breeding