Royal Ascot runner goes Thunder the hammer
Tom Marriott speaks to Jack Davison ahead of today’s ThoroughBid online auction of Royal Ascot runner Thunderbear.
WALKING into the parade ring, or maybe even the winners’ enclosure, at Royal Ascot, with a horse running in your colours… the stuff that dreams are made of.
At 3:05pm next Saturday, Thunderbear will line up in the Jersey Stakes with every chance of making that dream come true for trainer and owner Jack Davison, as well as the winning bidder of the 50% share available in the speedy three-year-old.
Being auctioned online via ThoroughBid, a revolutionary online auction house for racehorses and bloodstock, from 9am-6pm today, the unique opportunity to own a big slice of the classy sprinter is set to spark a bidding frenzy.
Davison, who last year saddled Group One King’s Stand fourth Mooneista, is confident about his chances in the prestigious seven-furlong contest: “It’s really exciting to have a horse that I think can be a genuine contender at Royal Ascot. I’ve always thought that he was going to be a seven-furlong horse – even a strongly run seven should be right up his street,” said Davison.
Thunderbear’s most recent performance saw him finish a close fourth to proven top-level sprinter The Antarctic, a run that will have filled Davison with confidence: “It was a strong renewal of the Lacken Stakes; he had Shartash right behind him, who was one of the best two-year-olds in Ireland last year, and it was a good horse of Aidan [O’Brien]’s who won it.
“There was no hiding place there and I was delighted with how he performed – I wasn’t surprised as I know he’s on an upwards curve.”
ThoroughBid is the UK’s first dedicated online bloodstock auction house and, founded in 2021, already has Punchestown and Cheltenham Festival winning graduates on its resumé, after Maskada and Its On The Line’s victorious efforts at the meetings earlier this year.
Thursday’s winning bidder will benefit from the full racehorse owner experience with their share in this Group-level sprinter, including the choice of racing colours and a very exciting season ahead as Thunderbear targets all the big sprint prizes.
“Whoever comes in to take the share can have the horse run in their colours,” Davison explained. “They will also have their name in the racecard and, hopefully, they’ve got a live chance heading into Royal Ascot.
“Thunderbear is ideal, he’s a flag bearer for me whom I would very much love to keep around the place, and it’s just a great opportunity to bring some people into ownership at a really good level.
“After Ascot, races like the Haydock Sprint Cup, Stewards’ Cup and Champions Sprint back at Ascot are certainly on his agenda, and we’d love to campaign him overseas too; something like the Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai next year, while a long way off, is a nice target we’ve got in the back of our minds.”
To put this exciting opportunity into further perspective, last year’s Jersey Stakes winner, Noble Truth, was bought as a yearling for an eye-watering €1.1million, while 2021’s winner, Creative Force, cost €400,000 and went on to win over £800,000 in prize money.
We can’t predict how big the number will be on Thunderbear’s head when ThoroughBid’s online gavel comes down this evening, but there’s the potential for an affordable way into owning a runner on the biggest stage of them all.
The auction will run from 9:00am to 6:00pm BST today, Thursday 15th June, with more information available on the ThoroughBid website: https://thoroughbid.co.uk/home
You must register in order to bid.
THE VERDICT:
Bill Esdaile, CityAM Racing Editor: Thunderbear looks a seriously exciting prospect. He was brilliant at Nottingham and followed that up with an arguably even better run at Naas in the Group Three Lacken Stakes. The attraction to me is that he’s only a three-year-old and has a host of big potential days mapped out already, starting at Royal Ascot next week. I love the fact that Jack Davison is keen to hold onto half of him and this looks an opportunity not to miss. In fact, I’m in the process of putting a syndicate together to try and buy that available share. If you are genuinely interested then dust down your top hat and tails and reach out to me on twitter @billesdaile.
Cornelius Lysaght, Racing Broadcaster: Not every good horse gets its show on the road straightaway, and it took a few near-misses before Thunderbear finally got his head in front, but patience is often well-rewarded in racing as has been demonstrated in his last two races. The Nottingham success was really quite striking with the horse travelling smoothly into the latter stages of the race after being held up, and he ended up disposing of some decent rivals from in-form stables in great style. Proving that was no flash in the pan, the performance in a proper, ‘grown-up’ race at Naas, looking as though further would suit, was another step forward. If he progresses again – and, considering the form he’s in, there’s absolutely no reason to think that he won’t – it looks highly likely he’ll play a significant role in some nice races in the future.
The auction will run from 9:00am to 6:00pm BST today, Thursday 15th June, with more information available on the ThoroughBid website: https://thoroughbid.co.uk/home
You must register in order to bid.