More Thunder Hangs On For Bunbury Cup Glory

William Haggas will evaluate 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 2 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 difficulty and accelerated up smartly to challenge for the lead.


More Thunder gets up on the line to land the @bet365 Bunbury Cup pic.twitter.com/KcjDydcCPF


Last year's winner Aalto, a 40-1 shot to his crown, recovered from an uninspiring run of kind to make a genuine race of it inside the last of 7 furlongs and the set flashed by the post nearly as one, however it was More Thunder who had his head down where it mattered, with the judge verifying him the winner by a nose.


Haggas said: "I require to enjoy it once again, however for me they didn't go quickly at all and he had a hard time to get momentum. I believe he's better going quick and Tom was available in and said 'if you run him over this journey 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 compete in Group One company at some phase.


William Haggas at Newmarket on Saturday (Joe Giddens/PA)


When asked if he had actually thought of running in the July Cup later on in the afternoon, Haggas added: "We considered it highly, however we also wanted 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 at a six-furlong stakes race. He just requires speed this horse, but in six-furlong Group races, you'll see in the July Cup, they do not go slow!


"He might run in another handicap, but I believe he is worthy of a chance at a good race now."