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Thunderello Dies Due to Colic at 22

The son of Montbrook was runner-up in the 2002 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1).

Thunderello leads in the 2002 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Arlington International Racecourse

Thunderello leads in the 2002 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Arlington International Racecourse

Rick Samuels

Grade 1-placed stakes winner and Canadian sire Thunderello died May 5 due to colic on a farm near Amherstburg, Ont., owned by Charles Mady, who raced the son of Montbrook. Thunderello was 22.

Thunderello was a fleet-footed sprinter who had three wins and three seconds out of seven lifetime starts that included a runner-up finish in the 2002 NAPA Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) to Orientate at Arlington International Racecourse.

"He was the kindest, most intelligent horse that any owner could be blessed with," said Mady. "He was truly my hero and will be missed greatly by the entire family."

Bred in Florida by Four Horsemen's Ranch, Thunderello is out of the In Reality daughter and multiple stakes producer On the Square. Prominent bloodstock agent Buzz Chace bought colt for $47,000 as a yearling at the 2000 Ocala Breeders' Sales August Select Sale of Yearlings for West Point Thoroughbreds. Thunderello was offered again by M & H Training and Sales at the OBS March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, where agent Brian Morgan bought him for $175,000 on Mady's behalf.

Trained by Scott Lake for all but his first start, Thunderello was second in his debut at 2 at Saratoga Race Course to Mayakovsky, who set a 5 1/2-furlong track record of 1:03.32 in the race. Thunderello became a winner in his next start, winning by 14 1/4 lengths at Saratoga and finishing only a quarter of a second off Mayakovsky's record. The colt was a close second in his debut at 3 and followed with two wins by a combined 5 1/2 lengths, which included a victory in the Gallant Bob Handicap. He went on to the Breeders' Cup, where he led the field through blistering early fractions of :21.53 and :43.91. With a furlong to run, Thunderello was a length in front of favorite Orientate and holding tough, but Orientate surged in the final strides to win by half a length.

Thunderello made his last start in the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Stakes (G1) during which he tore a ligament and had to be pulled up. He was retired with $388,400 in career earnings.

John O'Meara with Thunderello at Milestone Farm, Lexington KY , 4/26/11
Photo: Mathea Kelley
Milestone Farm owner John O'Meara with Thunderello in 2011 at Milestone Farm

Windmill Manor Farm bought Thunderello for stud duty and stood him at Walmac Farm near Lexington his first year at stud. He later stood at Sugar Maple Farm in New York, Diamond F Ranch in California, and Milestone Farm in Kentucky. Mady repurchased Thunderello in 2011 and relocated him to Ontario.

As a stallion, Thunderello sired 99 winners from 134 runners. His top performers included multiple graded stakes winner Monterey Jazz, who set a one-mile track record of 1:32.59 in a turf allowance race at Hollywood Park before winning the American Handicap (G2T) by 3 1/4 lengths. He also won the Sir Beaufort Stakes (G3T) at 3, and the Strub Stakes (G2) and Texas Mile Stakes (G3) at 4. Thunderello also sired multiple stakes winner Thunders Dove.