Thunder Rock set to stick to chasing route after Colin Parker triumph

Olly Murphy had not ruled out a return to hurdles for the gelding.

Thunder Rock got his season off to a perfect start with victory in the Colin Parker Memorial Intermediate Chase at Carlisle.

The seven-year-old was placed in graded company on multiple occasions last term after winning his first two outings over fences, rounding off his campaign with a length-and-three-quarter second in an Ayr Grade Two.

Beauport and Monbeg Genius were both non runners in the Carlisle, leaving just four runners to go to post with Thunder Rock sent off the 11-8 favourite in the hands of Sean Bowen.

Mahler Mission set out to make all in his usual style and it looked as though he might well prevail with two fences to jump as both Thunder Rock and Bill Baxter were under pressure.

However, Thunder Rock kept finding for Bowen on the run to the last, taking the final obstacle slightly ahead before pulling away from Mahler Mission on the run to the line to win by three and a half lengths. Bill Baxter was a further 10 lengths back in third, with the other runner, Bass Rock, pulled up.

Thunder Rock won four of his six hurdles starts for trainer Olly Murphy in the 2021-22 season and the trainer admitted he could well have turned the gelding’s attentions back to the smaller obstacles had he met with defeat in Cumbria.

He said: “He’s a horse with a big engine and we were kind of coming here today thinking if he wins, great, but if he doesn’t we will probably go back over hurdles. You can see he’s not the most robust horse in the world but he’s a got a big heart and he wants it and when a horse wants it, you’re sort of three-quarters of the way there.

“Where we go from today, I haven’t a clue. I discussed the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury with Max (McNeill, part-owner) and I just thought maybe a 20-runner handicap probably wouldn’t be for him. He’s (rated) 146 and I would imagine he will go up to the guts of 150 after today.

“I don’t know, off his rating he’s a horse that probably wants to step up into proper open graded company. There’s a Grade Two at Ascot over Christmas, I don’t know, something along the lines of that and see where we go.

“It’s very early to be talking about the Ryanair, but it’s the first step up the ladder, he’s a horse we will definitely keep chasing for the time being.

“He’s a gritty horse and I would love to have another 10 like him, he has a fantastic attitude, Sean got a good tune out of him and he’s giving his owners a lot of fun.”

McNeill is looking forward to seeing how far Thunder Rock can go now he is set on a chasing course.

He said: “It was a bit of a cup final for him today in terms of where do we go. You know, you’re standing at the station and could we go left or right – do we stick over hurdles if he didn’t run well today or were we going to keep over fences?

“On that performance, he missed the third last a bit, but I think he’s going to have to stay over fences. He’s an exciting prospect, he really is – I mean he was nearly there last year wasn’t he?”

Paddy Power cut Johnnywho to 16-1 from 20s for the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival following an easy victory in the Beaumont Novices’ Hurdle.

Trained by Jonjo O’Neill and ridden by his son Jonjo jnr, the 4-5 favourite beat Moon D’Orange by two lengths having barely come off the bridle.

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