Thunder Snow loving life at the Spa

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Tommy Burns has accompanied Thunder Snow on his U.S. excursions from England to Churchill Downs, Belmont Park, and now Saratoga.

When it comes to what surface Burns believes Thunder Snow handles best, he leaves little doubt.

“The best I’ve seen him is on this surface,” Burns said. “For some reason he’s just thriving out here, he’s moving so well.”

Burns was referring to the main track at Saratoga, where on Sunday Thunder Snow worked seven furlongs in 1:27.31 in preparation for a start in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Whitney Stakes.

Thunder Snow, under exercise rider Walter Lynch, worked during a busy time, right after the renovation break. He broke off at the seven-furlong pole and went in splits of 12.91 seconds, 25.63, 37.34, and five furlongs in 1:02.06.

Leaving the five-sixteenths pole, Thunder Snow ranged up outside a Tom Albertrani-trained horse that was breezing and followed him through the stretch, passing him inside the sixteenth pole as he got his final quarter in 25.25 seconds.

“For me, it worked out good, something to aim at because he always has a lead horse at home, goes by a couple of lengths, pulls himself up, and thinks he’s done enough,” Burns said. “Usually we work him with cheek pieces on. In America we left them off this time.”

Thunder Snow, the two-time Dubai World Cup winner for Godolphin and trainer Saeed bin Suroor, is coming off a third-place finish behind Mitole and McKinzie in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont on June 8. Christophe Soumillon will be here to ride.

Thunder Snow was one of seven horses expected to be entered Tuesday for Saturday’s Whitney, a race that offers a fees-paid berth into the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita.

The race is expected to include Grade 1 winners McKinzie, Vino Rosso, and Yoshida, as well as Preservationist, winner of his last three starts, including the Grade 2 Suburban at Belmont. Forewarned, an Ohio-bred stakes winner, will be the longest shot in the field, though his trainer, Uriah St. Lewis, pulled off a mega-upset in last year’s Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont with Discreet Lover. On Monday, owner Ron Paolucci informed NYRA stakes coordinator Andrew Byrnes that he planned to supplement Imperative, two-time winner of the Charles Town Classic, to the Whitney for a fee of $15,000. Imperative finished last of 14 in the 2018 Woodward Stakes.

On Monday at Del Mar, McKinzie completed his preparations for the Whitney by working a half-mile in 48 seconds. McKinzie is coming off a troubled-trip second to Mitole in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont on June 8.

“He had that hard race in the Met Mile, but he’s bounced out of it well,” trainer Bob Baffert said from California. “He’s working well down here. It’s a deep and tiring track, but he makes it look fast.”

McKinzie was scheduled to fly here on Tuesday. Baffert is due in on Thursday.

At Saratoga Monday, Yoshida, winner of last year’s Grade 1 Woodward, worked a half-mile in 49.93 seconds with a final quarter of 23.82 over the Oklahoma training track. He proceeded to gallop out five furlongs in 1:02.64 and six furlongs in 1:15.24.

“Nice work. I wanted him to gallop out pretty good,” trainer Bill Mott said.

After winning the Woodward, Yoshida finished a solid fourth, beaten just 1 3/4 lengths, in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. In three starts this year, he has finished sixth in the Grade 1 Pegasus Turf Invitational, Grade 1 Dubai World Cup, and Grade 2 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs.

Entries were to be finalized and post positions drawn Tuesday evening at Sperry’s, a downtown Saratoga Springs restaurant.