Thunderous claims the scalp of Highest Ground in Dante to give Mark Johnston a big-race 59-1 double at York

THUNDEROUS rained on Highest Ground’s parade in the Dante Stakes at York.

The Mark Johnston-trained colt stayed on in gritty fashion to collar the hot favourite in the dying strides under Franny Norton.

The victory completed a 59-1, big-race double on the Knavesmire for Johnston, with Rose Of Kildare a smart winner of the Musidora Stakes.

While that brave filly was a decisive winner at the line, Thunderous had to get down and dirty to win the rescheduled Group 2, which usually serves as a key trial for the Derby.

The colt, who went unbeaten in three starts at two, raced in behind a strong gallop in the early stages, with Aidan O’Brien’s Cormorant setting a breakneck tempo.

The well-punted 8-11 jolly Highest Ground loomed up under Oisin Murphy, and he looked for all the world as though he would preserve his 100% record with the minimum of fuss.

But Thunderous (13-2) rallied inside the final 150 yards to win going away by a neck, with the talented Juan Elcano running a solid race back in third.

Charlie Johnston, assistant trainer to his dad, said: “That was fantastic. He’s had his ups and downs, this horse – he was unbeaten as a juvenile and then had an injury after winning at Newbury, just as we were starting to dream of races like the Royal Lodge and the Vertem Futurity Trophy.

“He had another setback in March – although the consequences of that weren’t quite as dramatic, because there was no racing in the early part of the year.

“Certainly when we left Newbury last year we felt he was a Derby horse. Just the way things have panned out, we’ve never had a clean run at that, but he’s a horse we’ve always thought a huge amount of – and he’s got a big future.

“He’s very laid-back, and we were quite rushed getting him to Newmarket. The picture has been changing so fast this year, it’s hard to make plans – but when it was announced that this race would move to this slot, we felt it was a good place for him.

“We knew going to Newmarket he was short of 100 per cent, but knew running him there would give us the best chance of winning here today – that’s how it’s proved.”

On future plans, Johnston added: “We’ll have to look at Group 2s and Group 1s now.

“His attitude and racing style would suggest he could be (a St Leger horse), but his pedigree wouldn’t give you a lot of confidence for that sort of distance.

“It’s hard to make plans this year. There’s the Grand Prix de Paris, possibly. It’s a nice problem to have, and we’ll enjoy making plans.”

As for Rose Of Kildare (7-1), connections could be tempted to cough up €50,000 to run her at Dusseldorf in the German Oaks.

Johnston said: “That was absolutely fantastic. We ran her at Epsom last Saturday and then regretted it, because it looked like she clearly wanted further.

“We said we should have saved her for the Musidora – and we thought, why not, let’s run her in the Musidora.

“We ran her in the Guineas and we took her for the German Guineas – which had been her target all along – and she was very unlucky there.

“One of the owners in the partnership said he wished we had her in the German Oaks. We looked at that.

“It’s a €50,000 supplement, but we won’t rule it out. It’s the sort of thing she could win, and to get a Group 1 would be fantastic.”

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