Decision on where Thunder Snow will stand at stud to turn on 2019 track success

Godolphin's Thunder Snow, the world's leading earner currently in training with £12,671,800 to his credit, is likely to continue to aim at elite prizes in the United States with a decision on where he will stand at stud possibly hinging on his success this season.

Jimmy Bell, president of the American branch of Sheikh Mohammed's breeding operation, said on Sunday that Thunder Snow had been training brilliantly for the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga and his withdrawal from the race hours before post time due to a cough and fever was "unfortunate."

Bell said: "Long term, I think Saeed [bin Suroor] is very intent on trying to capture a Grade 1 over here and obviously I think he had him ready, at the moment, for the Whitney. It was just too bad. I think even casual observers were seeing how the horse was training and thriving here at Saratoga.

"So it was a big disappointment, but it was just one of those things where you shrug your shoulders and move on. Bad timing is what it came down to."

Looking ahead, Bell said the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga on August 31 could be a possibility for Thunder Snow. Like the Whitney, the Woodward is run over a mile and one eighth.

He also mentioned the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup over one and a quarter miles at Belmont Park on September 28, a race in which Thunder Snow finished second by a neck to Discreet Lover in 2018 while ahead of Mendelssohn and Gronkowski.

Bin Suroor's "ultimate goal this year is to get to the Breeders' Cup" with Thunder Snow, said Bell. "And certainly the one and a quarter miles would be right up Thunder Snow's alley.

"Having said that," Bell continued, "he ran a phenomenal race when third at a mile in the Metropolitan Mile on June 8 at Belmont Park against very speedy runners, including Whitney winner McKinzie."

Whether or not Thunder Snow eventually takes up stud duties at Godolphin's Jonabell Farm in Lexington could depend on if the now five-year-old son of Helmet, the only two-time winner of the Dubai World Cup, can capture a major Grade 1 prize on American dirt.

"We take that one step at a time," Bell said when asked if Thunder Snow is likely to stand at Jonabell. "But obviously he has shown an affinity for the dirt. We're very dirt-oriented, by and large, here in America, certainly more so than in Australia and England. But I think in fairness to the horse and everybody, winning a Grade 1 would be very, very important before making any of those decisions.

"He's very versatile. He's a very unique horse - a world traveller, phenomenally competitive, very adaptable," Bell added of Thunder Snow, who also has won a pair of French Group 1 races on turf.

"He was really getting very good and we were hoping it was going to be a big, long year for him over here in America, but we're just going to have to postpone it for another 30 days."

Thunder Snow possesses a pedigree that offers appeal in many parts of the world. His sire was a multiple Group 1 winner in Australia who is by Danehill's Australian champion sprinter son Exceed And Excel.

On the other side of the pedigree, Thunder Snow's dam is from the family of American champion filly It's In The Air, Irish Derby-winning filly Balanchine, who also captured the Epsom Oaks, and Prix de Diane winner West Wind.

Thunder Snow's dam, the Dubai Destination mare Eastern Joy, has also produced multiple Group stakes winner Ihtimal, by Shamardal, and her multiple stakes-winning full-sister Winter Lightning, as well as multiple Group 1-placed stakes winner Always Smile, by Cape Cross.

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Read the Racing Post's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale supplement