Thunder Snow picks up the pace in blowout Breeders' Cup work

Providing some wow-factor Wednesday morning at Churchill Downs was Godolphin’s Breeders’ Cup Classic runner, Thunder Snow. One day after an in-the-bridle gallop, the Saeed bin Suroor-trained son of Helmet turned up the heat even more when a planned blowout down the lane turned into a four-furlong breeze timed in a swift 47.40 seconds.

The move occurred just after 9 a.m. with Ian Burns aboard for bin Suroor, who has yet to win the Classic from eight tries, but was second with Sakhee in 2001 and third with Swain in 1998.

“It was just a blowout and went very well,” bin Suroor said. “The time was nice. I hope things go good from here. He is ready.”

Thunder Snow, a winner of Group or Grade 1 races at distances ranging from seven furlongs to 1 1/4 miles, will be reunited with regular rider Christophe Soumillon in the Classic.

While Soumillon has not ridden a classic, he has twice started in the Kentucky Derby over the same course and distance. One of those was on Mubtaahij, who was eighth to subsequent Classic winner American Pharoah in 2015, and the other was a dramatic episode with Thunder Snow in 2017, when the bay colt propped and bucked leaving the gate, forcing the veteran rider to pull him up in the first furlong.

Soumillon, a native of Belgium who lives in France, has won some of the world’s top races, including the 2005 Turf at age 24, two Prix de l’Arc de Triomphes (2003, 2008) and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2006).

In 2017, he set the European record for number of wins in a calendar year with 306.

“For myself, it would mean quite a lot to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic as a European jockey,” Soumillon said. “I think the last one I have seen who won was Frankie Dettori for John Gosden (with Raven’s Pass in 2008), but that was on an all-weather track. I’ve also seen Frankie get beaten with (Sakhee) and Mick Kinane on Giant’s Causeway, both get beaten by Tiznow on the dirt. For me it’s something amazing. Since I was 16 years old, I have been watching the Breeders’ Cup on TV in France all the time and was lucky enough to win one Breeders’ Cup. This would be even bigger than I can imagine.

“The biggest emotion I’ve felt outside Europe was for sure the Kentucky Derby and I rode it twice. Mubtaahij didn’t jump well or have the power to get into the race early. He ran a good race, but unfortunately not good enough to win,” Soumillon continued. “With Thunder Snow, it was absolutely crazy what happened, but the feeling before the race was really just magic. I don’t know what happened that day. I’m not sure it was because the ground was sloppy, because it was raining even in the mornings during track work. Horses can do some quite funny things in racing; not just that. He hasn’t done it again and I don’t know if he will every do it again. He is an animal and has his own feelings I cannot understand because he’s not talking, but we will do everything to make sure this will never happen again.

“It's hard to explain. The horse before the race was brilliant. On the way to the stalls (of the starting gate), nothing bothered him. Suddenly, the drama started. We couldn’t believe it and it’s really disappointing what happened. Straight away, they took him to Ireland and he was second in the Irish (2000) Guineas on the turf (three weeks later) and after that won a Group 1 in France on the turf. The target for him (then) was the Dubai World Cup and he won and now the goal is the Breeders’ Cup Classic. With all the races and experience he has had afterwards, I have confidence that this will not happen with this horse, but you can never say never again. We are quite confident that everything will go great with him.”

The racing public seems to be divided when it comes to whether Thunder Snow is underrated or overrated going into the Classic. Soumillon, who considers Thunder Snow one of his favorite mounts ever, takes a more objective approach.

“Unfortunately, when you are not unbeaten, you can’t say the horse is the best ever,” he explained. “Even today, you can see a horse like Winx, where some say she is the best ever and some say she is not. That makes racing interesting because you never really know. Some horses are made for some distances or types of ground and everyone is welcome to have an opinion.

"My job is a jockey is to ride the horse each time, bring them in the best position possible and then ride them in the straight to give his best.”