Thunder Snow Confirmed To Start In Gr.1 Whitney Handicap
Godolphin owned dual Gr.1 Dubai World Cup-winning superstar Thunder Snow will make his second consecutive run (after the 2019 Dubai World Cup) in the Gr.1 Whitney Handicap. He ran in the Gr.1 Metropolitan Handicap last month, landing a solid third behind Mitole and McKinzie.
“He is doing great,” Bin Suroor said. “He had a very nice work, his last piece of work, over the gallops at Newmarket this week and I’m happy with him. He’s in good form and improved from his last race at Belmont. He’s sound, happy and healthy and that is what you want.”
“He ran a big race over the mile at Belmont,” Bin Suroor said. “He really needed that race and had not run since the World Cup, so I was very happy with him. He will be ready for the Whitney because of that and the nine furlongs will suit him better than the mile. He showed plenty of speed, even for a mile, but he had Group 1 wins at a mile and seven furlongs, so he has always had speed. He will be more settled in the Whitney, but he will also have to be handy in the race.”
The son of Helmet has amassed US$16,511,476 in total career earnings — the highest of any active Thoroughbred. He is currently third on the all-time prize money list, just over $900,000 behind fellow Dubai World Cup winner Arrogate and less than $2 million astern Australian wonder-mare Winx.
Bin Suroor confirmed that the son of Helmet has shipped to New York again (clearing quarantine on Wednesday morning, July 24), but it will likely not be the last time he does so over the next few months. While the US$6 million Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Classic is the ultimate goal for the latter half of 2019—where he will try to make history and become the first horse ever to win the Dubai World Cup and Classic in the same year—the winner of four Group 1s will likely keep shipping into New York from his Newmarket, UK, base as he prepares.
“He’s doing good and he is back to work,” Bin Suroor said. “We gave him a break and let him take his time after a hard season. Right now, we are looking for a race maybe in September. It could be in Germany or America or Canada—there are options for him and he will run when he is ready.” concluded Bin Suroor.
Story curated from press release by Dubai Racing Club