Tag: Thunderous (Ire)

Stradivarius Still A Force To Be Reckoned With

Twenty career wins, 18 in group company. Those that wrote off Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) had to think again on Friday as Bjorn Nielsen's legendary chestnut popped up to keep his unbeaten tag on York's Knavesmire intact with a third G2 Paddy Power Yorkshire Cup. Travelling with all the gusto of his earlier days, the 6-4 favourite who was largely dogged by unsuitable ground and a dash of bad luck in 2021 sliced between younger rivals heading to two out with the crowd in raptures. Taking the measure of long-time leader Thunderous (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) soon after, he ended up towards the stands which he has come to own down the years and was clearly idling en route to a snug length success. In doing so, he surpassed the record of group wins in Europe previously held jointly with Cirrus Des Aigles (Fr) (Even Top {Ire}).

“My mouth is a bit dry–I'm emotional,” Frankie said as he prepared to parade the 8-year-old in front of the doting audience on his Yorkshire farewell. “Great. He actually surprised me, as he took me into the race very quickly. He pulls himself up in front, but I had no choice. The Gosdens are master trainers and changed his work and routine to keep him interested, worked him from the front and the back, taken him to different places, just to get him motivated as he's been going on those gallops for six years. I thought we had him fit, but until you try you don't know because he looks after himself. He looked the same as he usually does, travelled with zest and showed a good turn of foot and then he pulls up in front, but we know he does that. I will miss him dearly when he's retired–I'm trying to hold back the tears.”

John Gosden added, “He's totally unique. He was on his hind legs when we were saddling him, every time he saw a filly he started showing off but he came over here and he was a professional as ever. If the ground is not heavy, the plan is to go back to Ascot. It's like Desert Orchid, these horses do capture the imagination because they have longevity. To be the leading group-winning horse of all time in Europe, that takes some doing. Let's hope we can get to Ascot and the ground's not too deep, I think if he had this ground he'd take a lot of beating.”

Listing all of Stradivarius's achievements is unnecessary, but the staggering total of pattern races includes 17 at either this or group 1 level with the only group 3 coming in last year's Sagaro S. when connections changed tack. Whether that decision contributed to his subsequent reversal looking for a fourth Ascot Gold Cup will never be known, but his stable were keen to go back to basics for his preparatory run this time. With better luck in running last June, he possibly would have been second behind the now-absent Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) and it could be that given his preferred lively surface that is enough in 2022.

His owner-breeder remembers the staying greats all the way back to the likes of Sagaro, Ardross and Le Moss, but was not being drawn on comparisons with his star of the present. “You can never really compare different eras–he might have won a lot more races than them, but they were great and I loved watching those horses when I was young,” he said. “I think what we've done well with him is to keep him running in England and France rather than taking him to the Middle East or Australia. The wheels can come off when you do that and that is why he has endured so long.”

“Everyone wants to stand fast horses now and people get afraid of getting beaten so that they lose value, so the pressure is on to retire but I've obviously never been under as much pressure to retire him. He's probably worth as much in prizemoney than at stud. We're focusing on nothing more than the Gold Cup, especially as he's an eight-year-old,” Nielsen added. “The day will come when he's off the bridle and doesn't do it, so it's one race at a time.”

Stradivarius descends from the richly-talented Wildenstein distaffer Pawneese (Ire), deservedly crowned Horse of the Year in England in 1976 when she was also the champion 3-year-old filly in her native France. Her wins in the G1 Epsom Oaks, G1 Prix de Diane and G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond S. remain the stuff of legend, while her family also includes a chestnut like this winner who also wowed onlookers. Nureyev's Peintre Celebre was the brilliant winner of the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 1997, having already annexed the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and G1 Grand Prix de Paris. Stradivarius was the last foal out of Private Life (Fr) (Bering {GB}), who acted as a vessel for no small measure of this dynasty's magic.

Friday, York, Britain
PADDY POWER YORKSHIRE CUP-G2, £175,000, York, 5-13, 4yo/up, 13f 188yT, 2:58.33, gd.
1–STRADIVARIUS (IRE), 132, h, 8, by Sea The Stars (Ire)
     1st Dam: Private Life (Fr) (MSP-Fr), by Bering (GB)
     2nd Dam: Poughkeepsie (Ire), by Sadler's Wells
     3rd Dam: Pawneese (Ire), by Carvin II
(330,000gns RNA Ylg '15 TATOCT). O/B-Bjorn Nielsen (IRE); T-John & Thady Gosden; J-Frankie Dettori. £99,243. Lifetime Record: 3x Hwt. Older Horse-Eur at 14f+, 3x Hwt. Older Horse-Eng at 14f+, MG1SW-Eng & G1SP-Fr, 33-20-4-4, $4,267,854. *1/2 to Persian Storm (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}), Hwt. 3yo-Ger at 9 1/2-11f, MGSW-Ger, $121,198; 1/2 to Rembrandt Van Rijn (Ire) (Peintre Celebre), GSP-UAE, $167,081. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Thunderous (Ire), 129, g, 5, Night of Thunder (Ire)–Souviens Toi (GB), by Dalakhani (Ire).
(70,000gns Ylg '18 TAOCT). O-Highclere Thoroughbred Racing – George Stubbs; B-Rabbah Bloodstock Limited (IRE); T-Charlie & Mark Johnston. £37,625.
3–Tashkhan (Ire), 129, g, 4, Born To Sea (Ire)–Tarziyna (Ire), by Raven's Pass.
(€11,000 2yo '20 GOFAUT). O-Mr P Boyle; B-His Highness the Aga Khan's Studs S.C. (IRE); T-Brian Ellison. £18,830.
Margins: 1, 2, NO. Odds: 1.50, 8.50, 8.50.
Also Ran: Search For a Song (Ire), Max Vega (Ire). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

 

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Dante Glory For Night of Thunder’s Thunderous

Completing a notable double on the York card for Mark Johnston and Franny Norton, Highclere Thoroughbred Racing’s Thunderous (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) outstayed the Niarchos Family’s TDN Rising Star Highest Ground (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) to land Thursday’s G2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Dante S. Unbeaten at two and possibly in need of his comeback when runner-up in Newmarket’s Listed Fairway S., the 13-2 shot tracked Ballydoyle’s Cormorant (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) throughout the early stages but looked booked for second as Oisin Murphy sent Highest Ground to the front with two furlongs remaining. Sticking to his guns, the bay whose previous best had come in last year’s Listed Washington Singer S. wore down the 8-11 favourite in the dying strides to prevail by a neck, with Juan Elcano (GB) (Frankel {GB}) two lengths further behind in third. “He was off the bridle, but he was behind the bridle a little bit at Newmarket as well. He had to dig in deep today, but he did,” Norton said. “I was quite confident and comfortable where I was. He loved that ground and I think there’s more to come–I don’t think he’s quite there just yet.”

Following a brace of seven-furlong novice wins at Doncaster in June and Redcar the following month with success in Newbury’s Listed Denford S., or Washington Singer, also over that trip in August, Thunderous then found his momentum stopped jarringly through injury. Nursed back for the Spring, he met with another derailing which meant that his return in the Fairway June 27 was a much-needed one. Second to the more streetwise Volkan Star (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) in that 10-furlong contest staged on good-to-firm ground, he had conditions more in his favour here but had the requisite class to prove. In getting to the hot favourite and much-vaunted Highest Ground, he was putting himself back in the picture as the major middle-distance all-aged contests loom.

“He’s had his ups and downs and just as we were starting to dream of races like the Royal Lodge and the Vertem Futurity Trophy he had an injury after winning at Newbury,” Charlie Johnston explained. “He had another setback in March, although the consequences of that weren’t quite as dramatic as there was no racing in the early part of the year. When we left Newbury last year, we felt he was a Derby horse and the way things have panned out, we’ve never had a clean run at that but he’s a horse we’ve always thought a huge amount of and he’s got a big future. He’s very laid-back and we were quite rushed getting him to Newmarket. We knew running him there would give us the best chance of winning here today and that’s how it’s proved.”

“His attitude and racing style would suggest he could be a St Leger horse, but his pedigree wouldn’t give you a lot of confidence for that sort of distance,” the trainer’s son and assistant added. “It’s hard to make plans this year. There is the [G1] Grand Prix de Paris [at ParisLongchamp Sept. 13]. These races still matter a huge amount and to win them both today still means a huge amount to the team.”

Oisin Murphy was at his usual self-critical best after getting run down late on the favourite. “I was a bit frustrated with myself as no-one wants to finish second, but Highest Ground is gorgeous, if still a bit immature physically and mentally,” he said. “He’d had only two starts before today, but I think he’ll go to a high level. It’s a shame he didn’t get his head in front this afternoon. We went an even enough gallop and I just thought, on that ground, he got a bit tired late on. He hasn’t had a hard race, I hope, and the Niarchos family have a lovely horse.”

Thunderous’s prospects of staying more than a mile and a half are reasonable, being out of the useful Italian listed scorer Souviens Toi (GB) (Dalakhani {Ire}) who was also fourth in the G3 Pinnacle S. and G3 Lille Langtry S. A half-sister to the G2 Oaks d’Italia third Whippy Cream (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), she hails from the family of the German group 3 winner and G2 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1 runner-up Empire Storm (Ger) (Storming Home {GB}). Her 2-year-old colt by Exceed and Excel (Aus) was bought by Stroud Coleman Bloodstock for 150,000gns at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 2 Sale, while she also has a filly foal by Frankel (GB).

Thursday, York, Britain
AL BASTI EQUIWORLD DUBAI DANTE S.-G2, £55,000, York, 7-9, 3yo, 10f 56yT, 2:08.62, g/s.
1–THUNDEROUS (IRE), 126, c, 3, by Night of Thunder (Ire)
1st Dam: Souviens Toi (GB) (SW-Ity & MSP-Eng), by Dalakhani (Ire)
2nd Dam: Diavla, by Bahri
3rd Dam: Change My Heart, by El Gran Senor
1ST GROUP WIN. (70,000gns Ylg ’18 TAOCT). O-Highclere Thoroughbred Racing (George Stubbs); B-Rabbah Bloodstock Ltd (IRE); T-Mark Johnston; J-Francis Norton. £31,191. Lifetime Record: 5-4-1-0, $84,571. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Highest Ground (Ire), 126, c, 3, Frankel (GB)–Celestial Lagoon (Jpn), by Sunday Silence. O/B-Niarchos Family (IRE); T-Sir Michael Stoute. £11,825.
3–Juan Elcano (GB), 126, c, 3, Frankel (GB)–Whatami (GB), by Daylami (Ire). (360,000gns Ylg ’18 TATOCT). O-Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum; B-Mr & Mrs David Brown (GB); T-Kevin Ryan. £5,918.
Margins: NK, 2, NK. Odds: 6.50, 0.73, 7.00.
Also Ran: Cormorant (Ire), Encipher (GB), Al Madhar (Fr). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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