Thunder ready to roll in Bunbury Cup

More Thunder will be given the chance to gain compensation for his Royal Ascot near-miss in Newmarket’s bet365 Bunbury Cup on Saturday.

Although campaigned at a mile and a quarter when trained by Sir Michael Stoute last season, the four-year-old has thrived back down in trip since joining William Haggas this term, winning his first two starts of the season over six furlongs.

He agonisingly missed out on a hat-trick of victories at the distance when a head away from Wokingham glory at the Royal meeting, with connections feeling now is the right time to gradually increase the colt’s yardage to seven furlongs.

“I think he will go for the handicap, the Bunbury Cup,” said owner Saeed Suhail’s racing manager Philip Robinson.

“I think the seven furlongs will help him and it looks to me like that will be his best trip. We will get to find out and then know where we go from there.

“He was flying at the finish at Ascot and in another stride would probably have got there.”

More Thunder is as short as 2-1 for Saturday’s £100,000 handicap on the July course, while he also holds an entry for Group events in the coming weeks including the Curragh’s Romanised Minstrel Stakes on July 19 and the HKJC World Pool Lennox Stakes during the Qatar Goodwood Festival.