Group performer Thunder Down Under is preparing for the second stage of his career.
"He's been retired, he damaged the
cartilage in his feet and we're going to stand him at stud at our place at Te
Kowhai," part-owner and trainer Stephen Ralph said.
"We've been successful at this before and Dad (John) stood Danseur Etoile and Te Puninga, so we know what we're doing.
"He's a gorgeous animal and we never got to see the best of him. We felt we could have won a Group One with him. He's a special horse."
Thunder Down Under won four races, including the Listed 3YO Salver (2100m) at Ellerslie and finished third in the Gr.3 Bonecrusher Stakes (1400m). He also placed in Sydney during a stint with champion trainer Chris Waller.
He is a son of the Gr.1 Kentucky Derby (2000m) and Gr.1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (1700m) winner Street Sense and the unraced Galileo mare River Dreaming. She is a grand-daughter of the champion European mare All Along.
"He's got such a well-balanced pedigree and he's an absolute gentleman," Ralph said. "He's got perfect manners.
Four of River Dreaming's five foals to race have won and her international family also has Australian stakes success through Gr.2 Alister Clark Stakes (2040m) winner Cliff's Edge.
Ralph said he couldn't believe his luck when he secured Thunder Down Under for $12,000 at Karaka in 2014. "I bought him uncontested, nobody else wanted him."
A fee for Thunder Down Under has yet to be announced. – NZ Racing Desk.
