WALKING THUNDER TO UAE 2000 GUINEAS

Phoenix Ladies Syndicate’s Walking Thunder is now a perfect 2-for-2 lifetime, thanks to a dominant victory in last Thursday’s 1600m conditions event restricted to 2-year-olds. The son of Violence was inspiring when victorious at first asking on opening night of the Racing at Meydan domestic season, Nov. 1, and then was absolutely overpowering just more than a month later when stepping up one furlong with ease.


Trained Ahmad bin Harmash, the bay colt showed new dimensions in said repeat tally, sitting behind horses and taking the dirt kickback like a seasoned veteran. When called upon by jockey Connor Beasley, he responded instantaneously and gobbled up his foes in eye-atching fashion. Now, according to his connections, he will wait two months for his next start, which will come in the Group 3 UAE 2000 Guineas, which boasts a purse of $250,000 and will be contested on Feb. 7. Effectively skipping the 2000 Guineas Trial in January, Walking Thunder will leave that prize for his 1-for-1 stablemate, Superior, who won his debut equally as impressively on Nov. 8. “He’s turned out to be a good horse and ran a great race last Thursday,” said Amer Abdulaziz, principal of Phoenix Thoroughbreds, of which Phoenix Ladies is an offshoot. “The plan from here is to take him straight to the Guineas. We can split him and Superior that way, who will run in the Trial. Walking Thunder has already qualified for that sort of race, so he’ll go there. We weren’t sure about the 1600m for him and
we knew Superior could get the trip, so that’s why we didn’t run both of them last week.


“Part of the plan was for him to get an education; put him behind and take the (kickback) to see if he could handle it before he faces it in bigger races,” Abdulaziz continued. “Connor did an amazing job and kept him in the right place and then he just took off. It was very impressive. The Phoenix Ladies have some very good young horses and we also look forward to the older Phoenix (Thoroughbreds) big guns coming for the Carnival.”


Walking Thunder is a son of the Street Boss mare Street Show, who is out of the Royal Anthem mare Reality Show—making for a solid blend of speed and stamina in his pedigree. He hails from the family of Grade 2 winner Sky Cape and is from the second crop of Violence, which also includes multiple Grade 1 performer and Kentucky Derby (G1) candidate Dueling, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1)-placed Vibrance and stakes winners Its Gonna Hurt, Order and Law, Shy Cubana, Louder Than Bombs and Strike Silver. Standouts hatwasithinking, Cicatrix, Talk Veuve to Me and Cosmic Burst highlighted his freshman crop. Walking Thunder was a bargain $42,000 at OBS April Spring 2-year-olds in Training Sale in Florida, USA.