Thunder Moon (foaled 1 May 2018) is an Irish

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

. As a two-year-old in 2020 he made a successful debut in a

maiden race In horse racing a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the se ...

and then won the

Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car racing, applied to standard touring cars. Comparable to modern FIA Group N * Group On ...

National Stakes The Vincent O'Brien National Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres ...

Background

Thunder Moon is a bay colt with a white star and snip bred in Ireland by Whisperview Trading a breeding company owned by

Aidan O'Brien Aidan Patrick O'Brien (born 16 October 1969 in County Wexford, Ireland) Aidan O'Brien bio NTRA. ...

and his wife Anne Marie. He initially raced in the colours of Anne Marie O'Brien and was sent into training with her son

Joseph Patrick O'Brien Joseph Patrick O'Brien (born 23 May 1993) is an Irish horse racing trainer and former flat racing jockey. He is the son of trainer Aidan O'Brien. In 2012 he rode Camelot to win the 2,000 Guineas, the 2012 Epsom Derby and the Iris ...

at Owning Hill,

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...

. He was from the sixth crop of foals sired by

Zoffany Johan Joseph Zoffany (born Johannes Josephus Zaufallij; 13 March 1733 – 11 November 1810) was a German neoclassical painter who was active mainly in England, Italy and India. His works appear in many prominent British collections, includin ...

, who won the

Phoenix Stakes The Phoenix Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is sch ...

as a two-year-old but produced his best effort when running a close second to

Frankel Frankel is the surname of: * Benjamin Frankel (1906–1973), British composer * Bethenny Frankel (born 1970), American chef and reality television personality * Charles Frankel (1917–1975), American philosopher, known for Charles Frankel Prize * ...

in the

St James's Palace Stakes The St James's Palace Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlongs and 213 yards (1,603 metres). It is schedu ...

. His other foals have included Albigna, Ventura Storm (

Gran Premio del Jockey Club The Gran Premio del Jockey Club is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Milan over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in October. T ...

), Washington DC (

Windsor Castle Stakes The Windsor Castle Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,003 metres) at Ascot as part of the Royal As ...

) and Fleeting (

May Hill Stakes The May Hill Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each ...

). Thunder Moon's dam Small Sacrifice never appeared on a racecourse but was a granddaughter of the successful racehorse and broodmare

Trusted Partner Trusted Partner (foaled 22 May 1985) was an American-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She showed great promise as a two-year-old in 1987 when she won both of her races including the C L Weld Park Stakes and won the Irish ...

, whose other descendants have included Search For A Song and

Free Eagle Free Eagle (foaled 4 May 2011) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. He was very lightly campaigned in his early career, appearing four times in two years. As a juvenile he won impressively on his debut but was comprehensively beaten by Australia ...

Racing career

2020: two-year-old season

Thunder Moon began his racing career in a

over seven

furlongs A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

at the

Curragh The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the ...

on 9 August when he was ridden by

Declan McDonogh Declan McDonogh (born 21 January 1980) in County Meath is an Irish jockey who competes in Flat racing. McDonogh rode his first winner at Leopardstown Racecourse in June 1995 and has worked for trainers Kevin Prendergast, John Oxx and Joseph O' ...

and started at odds of 10/1 in an eleven-runner field. After starting well and settling just behind the leaders he took the lead a furlong from the finish and drew away to win "easily" by almost four

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...

. After the race the colt entered the ownership of Chantal Regalado-Rodriguez. On 13 September Thunder Moon was moved up sharply in class to contest the

National Stakes at the Curragh in which he was again partnered by McDonogh. He went off the 15/2 third choice in the betting behind Lucky Vega and Master of the Seas (winner of the

Superlative Stakes The Superlative Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is sc ...

) in a ten-runner field which also included Military Style (

Tyros Stakes The Tyros Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year ...

), Law of Indices ( Railway Stakes) and Mac Swiney. After tracking the leaders on the inside Thunder Moon struggled to obtain a clear run in the straight but when he found room to race he accelerated into the lead inside the final furlong and won in "impressive" fashion by one and a half lengths and a short head from Wembley and

St Mark's Basilica The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark ( it, Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco), commonly known as St Mark's Basilica ( it, Basilica di San Marco; vec, Baxéłega de San Marco), is the cathedral church of the Catholic Chu ...

. Declan McDonogh commented "He quickened very well. I just got on heels when I was trying to angle out a little bit and had to bite the bullet and sit and suffer, but he showed great heart when he got a bit of room and always gave me the feel that he was going to run them down. He's got a serious will to win." After the race he was made favourite for the following year's

2000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year at ...

. On 10 October Thunder Moon was sent to England and started the 11/4 favourite for the

Dewhurst Stakes The Dewhurst Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), ...

over seven furlongs at

Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...

. After racing in mid-division he made steady progress in the closing stages but was beaten into third place behind St Mark's Basilica and Wembley, finishing two and a half lengths behind the winner. In the official European classification of for 2020 Thunder Moon was given a rating of 117, making him the fourth best two-year-old of the season three pounds behind the top-rated

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist

External links

Career 1-2-3 Colour Chart
– ''Thunder Moon'' Thoroughbred family 9-f 2018 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland