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26.
Thunder Down
Under
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11/10/2002 |
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A
Group 1 winner, a highly impressive two-year old winning on debut and a city
winning three-year old filly completed a wonderful day for Coolmore Stud’s
champion Kentucky Derby winner Thunder Gulch around Australia on Saturday.
Shot Of Thunder became the third Group 1 winner for Thunder Gulch in Australia
with a well deserved win in the Toorak handicap at Caulfield. Earlier in the day
Geoff and Beryl White were celebrating the win of first starter Tsuimai in a
two-year old handicap at Rosehill Gardens. Tsuimai is a daughter of the
White’s champion Marscay mare Triscay. Three-year old Thunder Gulch filly Dark
Horizon won her second consecutive race with a hard fought win in the class 1
Archway Handicap at Victoria Park.
It would be a hard man that would begrudge a Group 1 win for Shot Of Thunder who
finished third behind Show A Heart in last year’s Toorak Handicap. Show A
Heart has been retired to Queensland’s Glenlogan Park, which will possibly be
fate of Shot Of Thunder when he finally retires from racing. Glenlogan bought
into the five-year old who was a $255,000 purchase by West Australian trainer
Dave Edwards at the 1999 Easter Yearling Sale.
THUNDER GULCH
As a two-year old Shot Of Thunder was a duel city winner in Perth and finished
fourth in the Group 1 VRC Sires' Produce Stakes and the Listed Maribyrnong Trial
Stakes.
He came back at three to win the WATC Belmont Guineas (LR) (1600 m.) and the
Belmont Classic (LR) (2200 m.) and ran fourth in the MVRC AAMI Vase (G2). This
season as a 4yo Shot Of Thunder has run 3rd VATC Toorak H. (G1) and 4th in the
VATC Eat Well Live Well Cup (G1). In a frustrating four-year old season Shot Of
Thunder ran third in the WATC Fruit 'n' Veg Stakes (G1), MRC Toorak Handicap
(G1), VRC HKJC Plate (LR) and was fourth in the MRC Eat Well Live Well Cup (G1).
This season as a five-year old Shot Of Thunder finished runner-up in the STC
Shannon Quality Hcp (G2), Tatt's Club (NSW) Tramway Hcp (G3).
When Shot Of Thunder lined up for today’s Toorak Handicap he had gone 15
months and 15 starts since his last victory. In a controversial finish Shot Of
Thunder finished a nose in front of the Queensland trained Scenic Peak with the
game front-runner Umrum lining up in his fifth success Toorak Handicap a race he
won in 1999 and 2000, hanging on for third. In a bumping finifh Scenic Peak,
ridden by Danny Nikolic, was relegated to fourth after losing a protest to
Kerrin McEvoy on Pernod which elevated Umrum from third to second while Pernod
went up from fourth to third. Shot Of Thunder gave 33yo Randwick-based trainer
John O’Shea his first Group 1 winner. It was also the first Group 1 win for
jockey Glen Boss since suffering a career threatening broken neck in a race fall
in Macau. The victory takes Shot Of Thunder’s record to 7 wins, 5 seconds and
4 thirds for earnings of over $556,000.
Shot Of Thunder is the third live foal out of the former outstanding racemare My
Brilliant Star. As a three-year old My Brilliant Star was to prove one of the
best fillies in Australia with wins in the AJC Oaks (G1) (2400 m.) and MVRC
Princess Stakes (1600 m.) while also finishing second in the SAJC Australasian
Oaks (G1), STC Ansett Australia Stakes (G1) and third in the STC Darby Munro
Stakes (LR), VATC Mercedes-Benz H.(LR) and fourth in the QTC Oaks (G1). My
Brilliant Star returned as a 4yo to run second in the VATC J.J. Liston Stakes
(G2) and MVRC John F. Feehan Stakes (G2).
The first foal of My Brilliant Star, Celebrity Princess (Palace Music (USA)),
only won one race from 21 starts however she made it count with a stakes win in
the WATC Belmont Oaks L (2400 m.).
My Sparkling Star, a year younger sister to My Brilliant Star, is the dam of the
former Brian Mayfield-Smith trained galloper Sudurka (Perugino) winner of the
Oakleigh Plate (G1) and Salinger Stakes (G1) before taking up stud duties in N.Z.
My Brilliant Star and My Sparkling Star are out of the Century mare Centida who
was purchased by breeder Barry Taylor for $20,000 after he raced two of
Centida’s previous foals Nancress and Crescent.
Nancress (Namnan) won 6 races including the VATC Jewel H. (LR) (1400 m.) and
placed in the VRC Red Roses Stakes (LR) while Crescent won 2 races including the
VRC Marabou H. (1200 m.) and placed in the VATC Merson Cooper Stakes (G3). Both
My Sparkling Star and My Brilliant Star are by the moderately performed Nijinsky
stallion Copper Kingdom. For a stallion often criticised of not producing a son
that would have a lasting influence on the breed, Nijinsky has been having quite
a run of late. Just last week his deceased sons Serheed and Caerleon sired the
Underwood Stakes winner Northerly and the Prix de l’Arc de Triumph hero
Marianbard respectively. Nijinsky’s outstanding son Royal Academy just missed
out on further Group 1 glory at Caulfield when his top-class son Bel Esprit
gained many more admirers despite a luckless second behind the exciting Helenus
in the Caulfield Guineas.
My Brilliant Star has an unraced three-year old sister to Shot Of Thunder, a
two-year old filly by Peintre Celebre named Celebrity Star, which was passed in
at this years Easter Yearling sale when she failed to meet a $300,000 reserve a
Woodman yearling filly and foals to Snippets this year.
Shot Of Thunder is the second Group 1 winner from the first crop by the champion
racehorse Thunder Gulch. One of the best three-year olds in U.S. history Thunder
Gulch won the Kentucky Derby (G1), the Belmont Stakes (G1), Florida Derby (G1),
Travers Stakes (G1)and the Swaps Stakes (G2).
While his success in Australia has been a touch patchy Thunder Gulch has been a
revelation in the States. The Champion sire in the U.S in 2001 Thunder Gulch has
sired the champion three-year old Point Given and the highest earning female in
U.S. history, Spain.
Shot Of Thunder descends from the family of influential broodmareTeppo, who
couldn’t win a race herself but left 5 stakes winners. One of her daughters,
the VRC Maribyrnong Plate winner Trey produced the great performer Trivalve,
winner of the VRC Derby, AJC Derby and Melbourne Cup. Another daughter Deneb
produced Herowinkie the dam of champion Hall Mark (Heroic) winner of 18 races. A
top-class 2yo where his wins included the AJC Sires Produce Stakes and AJC
Champagne Stakes, Hall Mark went on to win the Doncaster H., AJC Derby, VRC
Derby and Melbourne Cup. Hall Mark’s sister the cleverly named Hall Marks
Sister produced the duel AJC Metrpolitan, All Aged Stakes and Doomben 10000
winner Murray Stream. Hall Mark’s Sister is the fifth dam of Blazing Bags
(Baguette) the dam of the flying Clan O’Sullivan and the Group 2 winner
Burning Embers. Other winners descending from Teppo include such diverse
performers as Oakleigh Plate winner Zonda, Magnificent (AJC Derby), Knave (VRC
Sires Produce Stakes, AJC Epsom H.), Brewery Boy (VRC Derby), Sydney Cup winner
Streak and one of Australia’s greatest ever two-year olds Luskin Star.
By: Mark Smith
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