More Thunder Holds On For Bunbury Cup Glory

William Haggas will test 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 preferred to get back on the winning path in this ₤ 100,000 contest and having been dropped out last by Tom Marquand early on, he was angled towards the stands' rail to install 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 successfully defend his crown, recovered from an uninspiring run of form to make a of it inside the last of 7 furlongs and the set flashed by the post almost as one, but it was More Thunder who had his head down where it mattered, with the judge confirming him the winner by a nose.


Haggas said: "I require to watch it once again, however for me they didn't go quickly at all and he struggled to get momentum. I think he's better going quick and Tom can be found in and stated 'if you run him over this journey again, they require to go hard'. Six furlongs, he feels, is his finest journey."


More Thunder holds big-race entries in significant handicaps and Pattern races and it is clear his fitness instructor is keen to see him complete in Group One company 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 in the afternoon, Haggas included: "We considered it highly, however we likewise wished to go up to 7 furlongs at some phase and this was a chance to do so.


"That is why he came here, but we will have a fracture at a six-furlong stakes race. He just needs speed this horse, but in six-furlong Group races, you'll see in the July Cup, they don't go slow!


"He could run in another handicap, but I believe he deserves a chance at an excellent race now."