Thunder Snow

There are bloodstock sales and then there's the JRHA Select Sale. The premier sale for Thoroughbreds in Japan, held at Hokkaido's Northern Horse Park, is truly out of the ordinary as far as these events go. The yearling section of the sale, which this year features 234 entries taking into account withdrawals at the time of writing, follows a fairly traditional format (though the sale's website does include a document noting the yearlings' heights, girth and cannon bone measurements, vices, and any surgical intervention), but it is the following day's...

Plans are currently on hold for dual G1 Dubai World Cup winner Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}) after he was scratched from the GI Whitney H. on the day of the race as he spiked a temperature. He returned to Saeed bin Suroor's stable in Newmarket on Tuesday--and while the Breeders' Cup is still on the agenda, where he runs before then is up in the air. "He got back from Saratoga today," said Bin Suroor. "The horse ran a temperature, which was why we had to scratch him from...

Saturday's GI Whitney S. lost some of its appeal when two-time G1 Dubai World Cup hero Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}) was scratched sick, depriving fans of a battle with 'TDN Rising Star' McKinzie (Street Sense) in the 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita the first weekend in November. Though that clash is on hold for the next eight weeks, McKinzie upheld his end of the bargain, getting a thinking-man's ride from Hall of Famer Mike Smith before holding off a late...