More Thunder Hangs On For Bunbury Cup Glory
William Haggas will check the water at Group-race level before the season is out with More Thunder following his narrow success in the bet365 Bunbury Cup at Newmarket.
The winner of two valuable six-furlong handicaps on the Rowley Mile in the spring, the four-year-old was beaten a head by Get It when bidding for his hat-trick in the Wokingham at Royal Ascot last month.
More Thunder was a 6-5 favourite to get back on the winning trail in this ₤ 100,000 contest and having been left last by Tom Marquand early on, he was angled towards the stands' rail to mount his challenge and quickened up wisely to challenge for the lead.
More Thunder gets up on the line to land the @bet365 Bunbury Cup pic.twitter.com/KcjDydcCPF
In 2015's winner Aalto, a 40-1 shot to successfully safeguard his crown, bounced back from an uninspiring run of type to make a real race of it inside the last of seven furlongs and the set flashed by the post nearly as one, but it was More Thunder who had his head down where it mattered, with the judge validating him the winner by a nose.
Haggas stated: "I need to enjoy it once again, but for me they didn't go quickly at all and he struggled to get momentum. I believe he's better going quickly and Tom was available in and said 'if you run him over this trip once again, they need to go hard'. Six furlongs, he feels, is his finest trip."
More Thunder holds big-race entries in significant handicaps and Pattern races and it is clear his trainer is eager to see him complete in Group One business at some phase.
William Haggas at Newmarket on Saturday (Joe Giddens/PA)
When asked if he had thought about running in the July Cup later on in the afternoon, Haggas added: "We considered it strongly, but we also wished to increase to 7 furlongs at some stage and this was an opportunity to do so.
"That is why he came here, but we will have a fracture at a six-furlong stakes race. He simply requires rate this horse, however in Group races, you'll see in the July Cup, they don't go sluggish!
"He could run in another handicap, however I think he is worthy of a chance at a great race now."