Bin Suroor dreaming 'special' Thunder Snow can land coveted Breeders' Cup prize

Saeed Bin Suroor is pinning his hopes for top-level glory this year on the one horse in his stable he feels is truly special and has tasked that horse, Thunder Snow, with capturing one of the last major races to have eluded Godolphin – the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Godolphin enjoyed a memorable Royal Ascot with Blue Point emulating Choisir in doing the King’s Stand/Diamond Jubilee Stakes double and Pinatubo landing the Chesham Stakes for trainer Charlie Appleby.

Bin Suroor was out of luck with Platinum Star, second in the Windsor Castle, and Final Song, third in the Queen Mary, the closest he came to success at the royal meeting.

The trainer has had fewer than 130 runners in Britain this year and, while he is operating at a good strike-rate of 17 per cent, his big names have not come to the party. Northumberland Plate-bound Red Galileo has been his biggest domestic winner of the season in a handicap at Newmarket.

While Bin Suroor enjoyed a good Carnival in Dubai, saddling Dream Castle to a string of notable wins, it is dual World Cup winner Thunder Snow who has been flying the flag for his trainer at the highest level.

Southern Hills pips Bin Suroor's Platinum Star (near) at Royal Ascot last weekCredit: Edward Whitaker

"He’s the best horse in my stable and for the last three years he has been the best," Suroor said on Thursday. "We have some good horses right now but the really good horses, the special horses like him, are hard to find. Horses like him who can win you the best races do not always come along. We have good horses, horses who can win races, but not like him."

The race Bin Suroor most wants to win with Thunder Snow is the Breeders’ Cup Classic. It is a race that has so far eluded Godolphin, with Sakhee just touched off by Tiznow in a tubthumping race in 2001, and victory in the $6 million Classic would secure Sheikh Mohammed one of the last great worldwide prizes he has yet to win in the Godolphin blue.

"It’s a tough race and one that’s very hard to win. It’s one of the best races in the world, but he’s good enough to win it," Bin Suroor said. "Thunder Snow looks very well, so we’re getting him ready to go to Saratoga for the Whitney Stakes [on August 9].

"He always improves with his racing, so we’ll give him a couple of runs before the Breeders’ Cup Classic and then go for that. He’s very tough and he ran well last time in the Met Mile. We might go for the Jockey Club Gold Cup before we go to the Classic."

In his time as a Godolphin trainer Bin Suroor has handled some of the organisation’s biggest names – such as Lammtarra, Daylami, Dubawi, Dubai Millennium and Fantastic Light – and he believes that, while Thunder Snow is by far his best right now, there is more to come from his current team.

Sheikh Mohammed with his trainers Charlie Appleby (left) and Saeed Bin SuroorCredit: Peter Mooney

He said: "Sheikh Mohammed likes Thunder Snow a lot. He’s the only horse to have won the Dubai World Cup twice and he’s always happy when he’s talking about the horse.

"I’ve been working with Sheikh Mohammed for 27 years and we have found a lot of good horses together for Godolphin. We have some good new, young horses coming through and I’m excited about what they can do for us."

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