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By Ray Hickson

Think About It has come along at just the right time for jockey Sam Clipperton.

There’s never been any doubting his quality as a Group 1 rider but in such a competitive environment, when you’re not right at the top of the tree, you need a headline act to remind people that racing isn’t all about one or two high profile jockeys.

Jockey Sam Clipperton after his TAB Everest win (Pic: Steve Hart)

So as he looks to extend his unbeaten run to 10 on TAB Everest champion Think About It in Saturday’s $3 million Giga Kick Stakes (1300m) at Rosehill he’s thankful to have been part of the gelding’s remarkable rise and hopes it can continue for the horse and himself.

“He’s the horse that every jockey dreams of appearing and every jockey dreams of one day riding,’’ Clipperton said.

“He’s certainly arrived for me and I’m very lucky and very privileged to be riding a horse like Think About It.

“It’s been a steady season for me so far but I’m hoping the Everest can just remind people I can get the big jobs done on the big days and handle the pressure.

“Not only that, I want to show people I can perform on a Tuesday at Newcastle or in an Everest at Randwick. Hopefully we can bounce off it, and it can roll on into the autumn.”

It was back in January when Clipperton first rode Think About It for trainer Joe Pride and it immediately struck him that there was Group 1 ability underneath.

Nothing that has happened since has really surprised the 29-year-old except perhaps for the ever increasing pace at which that rise has come.

It’s every owner, trainer and jockey’s dream – as Clipperton said – to witness such a climb, in Think About It’s case one that took him to the top of the mountain.

A Benchmark 72 on January 11, a 78 on January 28, an 88 on February 11, a Group 3 on February 25. A Listed race on May 6, a Group 1 on May 27, a Group 1 on June 10, a Group 2 on September 30 and the world’s richest race on turf on October 14.

“Every horse is beatable but I don’t really think about his winning streak,’’ Clipperton said.

“Every time I ride him I just have so much faith in him, that’s what it comes down to. Every time I swing my leg around him I feel ten feet tall and bulletproof.

“I’ve never had any doubt that he’d measure up. He’s probably surprised us how fast he’s gone through the ranks. I remember when I rode him for the first time in January in a Benchmark 72 I said straight away this horse is a dead set Group 1 horse no doubt about it.

“I didn’t realise how quick it would happen but he’s always given me so much confidence.

“Whatever we are faced with he seems to straight away adapt to even if he hasn’t been in that position before. That makes my job easier.”

Connections of Think About It, $1.70 with TAB on Thursday, stand to win $3,950,000 if he’s successful in the Giga Kick thanks the to the $1.75 million in prizemoney and $2.25 million in bonuses he's eligible for attached to the Sydney Sprint Series and his Everest success.

His prizemoney would soar to beyond $15 million in the space of 13 starts.

Clipperton said the Everest couldn’t have panned out any better for him.

“I had a few different scenarios in my head all week, but the way he sprung the lids and strode up into that plum position so easy and so dominantly that’s just what good horses do,’’ he said.

“They eliminate scenarios and eliminate opposition and that’s what he does. One thing I’ve never done with him is over analyse.”

So as he goes into this spring grand final on Think About It, Clipperton said while he hasn’t been on the horse’s back since the race there’s every chance he’s come on further in the past three weeks.

“You’d have to say going into the Everest if he didn’t win that you could argue the Giga Kick would be his race,’’ he said.

“So you’d think he would appreciate that step up even though it’s only an extra 100m. Third-up last prep he won a Stradbroke by two lengths so you’d suggest he’d be right around the mark where he can perhaps put in another peak performance.

“This horse doesn’t seem to have a ceiling at this stage.”

Think About It wins the TAB Everest

There’ll be a job ahead for Clipperton to win the $10 million James Squire Golden Eagle (1500m) on Ruthless Dame from the outside in the 19 horse field following the scratching of Attrition.

But after a narrow defeat to Espiona in The Invitation (1400m) last weekend, he sees not being cluttered up as a positive.

“She was brilliant on Saturday, was in a ding dong battle with a star mare in Espiona,’’ he said.

“She should measure up against her own age group and run a very good race.

“To me she’s a horse that seems to appreciate a bit of room. The 1500m at Rosehill wouldn’t be much more a test stamina wise than a 1400m at Randwick, it’s a forgiving course and distance.

“They race downhill from the 900m so if she’s going to run 1500m it’ll be at Rosehill.”

Ruthless Dame was a $26 chance with TAB on Thursday.

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday’s Golden Eagle meeting at Rosehill Gardens