BY TAMPA BAY DOWNS PRESS OFFICE (Edited)
OLDSMAR, FL—Although the main track was producing faster times than usual Saturday, plenty of horsemen and handicappers took notice when the 4-year-old Florida-bred gelding Little Thunder won the seventh race, a first condition, $16,000 optional claiming by seven-and-three-quarters lengths. With little encouragement from jockey Cipriano Gil, Little Thunder covered six furlongs in 1:08.95, .28 seconds off the track record set in 2012 by the Florda-bred filly It’s Me Mom.
Mor Spring Spirit was second with Doroteo third. Little Thunder paid $4.80 as the 8-5 favorite.
Trainer Tim Hamm owns Little Thunder under his Blazing Meadows Farm banner in partnership with breeder, Thomas Equels of Ocala, Florida; and watched from his Ocala training center after supervising a full schedule of 2-year-old breezes earlier in the day. He thought he’d be cutting it too close to make it to Tampa Bay Downs in time for the race, entrusting assistant Julie Hutchison with the saddling duties.
“He’s a horse that every single time he has done something, he has shown up,” Hamm said. “I told my son, Shane, that when you get a horse that shows up every time, that’s a horse.”
Hamm has been patient in developing the son of Noble Bird out of Circular Rainbow, by Circular Quay, who he described as “a big, gangly horse” as a 2-year-old. He decided against running him up north last summer, instead choosing to run him at Tampa Bay Downs to take advantage of Florida-bred money opportunities.
The plan has worked nicely thus far. Little Thunder broke his maiden here on Dec. 24 as a 3-year-old in 1:22.50 for seven furlongs. On Jan. 31, he finished second by three-and-a-half lengths to the Todd Pletcher-trained Disruptor in an 11-horse field. The seven-furlong time was 1:22.83.
Gil has ridden Little Thunder in all three starts.
“I can’t say I expected that [kind of performance] Saturday,” Hamm said. “Once he got in front [rounding the turn], he just started to extend and [Gil] rode him out. After seeing those earlier times, I thought he had a chance to shade 1:09, but that was really impressive.”
Hamm said he may point Little Thunder to the $110,000, Florida Cup NYRABETS Sprint at six furlongs on March 29. That’s the race, 14 years ago, in which It’s Me Mom set the track record against males.
With the foundation currently laid, any kind of progress could make Little Thunder a threat to that longstanding mark – not that he won’t be facing a serious cast of challengers whose connections have their own designs.
Return to the February 17 issue of Wire to Wire
