Thunder Snow, two-time Dubai World Cup winner, retired

Thunder Snow, the only horse to win the Dubai World Cup in consecutive years, has been retired from racing and will go to stud in 2020, though stallion plans haven’t yet been announced, according to the website of his owner, Godolphin Racing.

Thunder Snow last started in the Metropolitan Handicap in early June, finishing a fine third, but was unable to keep to a planned American campaign over the summer, scratching from an anticipated start in the Whitney at Saratoga, and eventually was taken home to trainer Saeed bin Suroor’s base in England.

Thunder Snow began his career on turf but made his mark racing on dirt, though his performance in the 2017 Kentucky Derby proved memorable for the wrong reasons. Thunder Snow bucked frenetically just after the start of the Derby and quickly was pulled up.

While Thunder Snow made several more starts in the United States, including a close third in last year's Breeders' Cup Classic, his reputation will mainly rest on his performances in Dubai, where Thunder Snow, by Street Cry, won the 2018 World Cup by nearly six lengths and scored a hard-fought victory over Gronkowski in the 2019 renewal.

Thunder Snow retired with a record of 8-7-4 from 24 starts and earned a staggering $16,511,476, almost $15 million of that total coming from his two World Cup wins and an earlier victory in the UAE Derby, all at Meydan Racecourse.