Thundering Blue rumbles home to leave Menuisier dreaming of Group 1 glory

The old adage is you have to spend money to make money, and Thundering Blue's ebullient owner Clive Washbourn was not backward in coming forward when supplementing his grey to the International field for the not inconsiderable sum of £75,000.

After Thundering Blue's win in the Group 2 York Stakes over course and distance last month Washbourn decided to roll the dice, and said when supplementing: "From a sporting point of view I don't think we have anything to lose."

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The sporting decision was regarded as just that by the bookmakers, with the five-year-old sent off at 50-1, but he lived up to his name, thundering home on the Knavesmire to claim third and a return of £39,325 on the £75,000 investment, netting £114,325.

Reflecting on his stable star's superb effort, a delighted David Menuisier said: "He was giving me the feeling he was improving and I felt the York Stakes wasn't a fluke.

"The only unlucky horse in that race was him when he got checked two furlongs out and he won quite cosily. We believed there was more to come from him, and here we are.

"I'm so proud of him and it's a fairytale story. The way he was coming home against those sorts of horses, we'd like to believe he'll win a Group 1 at some stage."

Where Thundering Blue goes next in search of a top-level success could depend on whether he gets the opportunity to jet to Japan, with Canada another potential destination.

"The Canadian International [at Woodbine] has always been on our mind and I'd love to be invited for the Japan Cup," Menuisier added.

"I think the Japan Cup would suit him extremely well and we've been talking about it with Fran [Berry] for a while as he rode a lot in Japan. We think Thundering Blue will improve as he goes up to a mile and a half."

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