Thunder rattles up the two-year-old division

IN the aftermath of last year’s Irish Champions Weekend we were left hailing a truly brilliant winner of the National Stakes in Pinatubo and 12 months later the same race witnessed an electrifying display from Thunder Moon.

There was to be no repeat of Pinatubo’s ethereal nine-length triumph but in its own way Thunder Moon’s win contained just as much brilliance.

On the back of just a maiden win at Curragh and with nowhere to go from over two furlongs out, this colt could quite easily and understandably have finished a highly respectable and unlucky sixth.

Instead, he produced a change of gear inside the last furlong that belongs to only the most elite of thoroughbreds. He might well take in the Dewhurst Stakes next and looking to next year it will be fascinating to see how far he can go. In the aftermath of this race there were predictable enough references to this being a below par edition of the National Stakes but such assertions blatantly and willfully overlook what the winner achieved over the last furlong and the quality of some those behind him.

Barrier trial

A mention of Thunder Moon cannot pass without a nod to the barrier trial meeting at Dundalk on July 29th where the Joseph O’Brien-trained colt had his first taste of the racecourse when breezing through a seven furlongs heat in good style. Thunder Moon is one of five subsequent maiden winners to have thus far emerged from that meeting while a further six horses have been placed subsequently, among them Belle Image who shaped up so well in Sunday’s Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction Sale Stakes.

It is just over two years since barrier trials were introduced to Irish racing and even before last weekend’s events they rated an excellent and helpful innovation to racing in these parts.

The information, replays and results concerning these trials are freely available and the results that have followed the meeting on July 29th mean that they are worth a close look as these trials are clearly gaining an increased level of traction.

There was another 10-race barrier trial meeting at Dundalk on September 7th and as we enter the last couple of months of the 2020 flat season that meeting might be worth more than just a cursory glance given what emerged from Dundalk in late July.