Thunder rolls home at Tamworth

Favourite backers were on good terms with themselves after the opening event at Tamworth on Tuesday afternoon.

Tivaci’s lightly-tried son Hammoon Thunder came in for inspired support to head the market and he more than comfortably repaid his army of admirers over 1600 metres.

The Waikato Stud-bred and sold three-year-old had weighed in over sprint outings in his only two previous appearances and a rise in trip was all the Rodney Northam-prepared gelding required to break his maiden.

Hammoon Thunder settled third last off the fence before improving near the turn and he let down strongly in the straight to put his rivals away.

“The step up in distance definitely helped, he’s been screaming out for a mile,” successful rider Clayton Gallagher said.

“I think he will improve a lot more when he gets over 1800 or 2000 metres, that will suit him a lot
more.”

A A$40,000 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale buy for Northam, Hammoon Thunder continued his dam Baby Shacks’ perfect record at stud as he is her fifth winner from five foals to race.

The O’Reilly mare is a sister to the Group 2-winning siblings Vigor and Joey Massino and a half-sister to the inaugural Karaka Million winner Vincent Mangano.

Baby Shacks has an unraced two-year-old sister to Hammoon Thunder and last year produced a colt by Super Seth.