As the longest shot in the field, somewhat surprisingly, THUNDERING (Mosler) did just that down the Woodbine stretch on Sunday, October 13 to break his maiden in the $125,250 Display Stakes for owner Jal Dastur and trainer Pat Dixon.
The Display was one of two seven-furlong juvenile stakes races held on Thanksgiving Sunday and both were open events.
Thundering was 10-to-1 in the six-horse Display field despite a solid rally to be third in his debut to He’s Not Joking who went off the 2-to-1 favourite for trainer Josie Carroll.
Also taking support was a first-time starter for Gary Barber, War of Destiny, and Soaring Free Stakes winner Cairo Caper, who had been racing well on the grass.
It was War of Destiny who went to the early lead in the Display through slow splits of 24.04 and 47.17 while Thundering and rivals were close up in a stalking position. Jockey Eswan Flores aboard Thundering allowed his bay gelding to relax off the rail and when he asked the Maryland-bred to move out three wide off the turn, the horse powered to the lead. Bucaro, ridden by Rafael Hernandez, who rode Thundering first time out, charged late but was second best, with He’s Not Joking third.
The time was 1:23.64.
“We always really liked this horse from the very first time I got him,” said Dixon, who is also the stable trainer for Colebrook Farms. “We nominated him for the stake because we liked him so much. So, we said, ‘Okay, well, let’s give him a try.’
“He always has to do something once before he figures it out, and he just takes a little bit of time. Coming out of that first race, he was like a bear. He just turned into a complete racehorse.”
Dastur, who has raced and bred horses in Ontario in the past, dating back to the late 1990s when he raced Ruxsh, bred Thundering in Maryland. By the War Front stallion Mosler, a sprinting stakes winner who loved grass, Thundering is from the Street Cry (Ire) mare Keep Right.
Keep Right placed six times in 11 races and is the dam of six other named foals, five winners, including stakes-placed One Silk Stocking and 19-time winner Exit Right, who earned over $459,000. This is the immediate family of Grade 1 Donn Handicap winner Stephen Got Even.
