The rain never materialized at Laurel Park on Saturday, June 27, but that did not stop Thundering from storming the finish line.

Canadian Jal Dastur's 4-year-old homebred gelding ridden by Yedsit Hazlewood, the nation's current leading jockey by number of wins, controlled the pace and finished first in the $125,000 Japan Racing Association Turf Cup.

The blaze-faced bay broke fast and established the early lead, as instructed by trainer Derek Ryan, who perceived the rest of the field to be thin on speed. Sent off the third choice at 9-2 in the field of eight, Thundering led the entire nine furlongs through reasonable fractions. As the field turned for home, he was let loose by Hazlewood, opened up by more than two lengths, and drove home to score by a length and a half over multiple graded stakes-winning Kentucky shipper Truly Quality while completing the distance on the firm turf in 1:47.21.

Ryan, based primarily at Monmouth Park, pointed Thundering for his first start in Maryland after a prospective race at Monmouth didn't fill and another at Colonial Downs drew too many. "This was plan two," Ryan said. He also made an equipment change by removing Thundering's blinkers, which he wore in all but one of his previous 15 races. "I like 'em as natural as possible," said Ryan.

In five starts this year, all a mile or more on the turf, Thundering has won twice and placed twice. After his recent score, the son of Mosler has $236,418 in earnings, and a record of 3-4-3 from 16 starts. He was a stakes winner at 2 when he broke his maiden in his second start by taking the $125,000 Display Stakes over Woodbine's all-weather track. His record includes a near miss, when second by a nose, in Delaware Park's $150,000 Kent Stakes last year, as well as a second in Woodbine's Toronto Cup Stakes.

Thundering is one of five six-figure earners, and only stakes winner, from seven starters for his dam Keep Right. The Street Cry (Ire) mare was initially purchased by Country Life Farm for $50,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton New York Fall Mixed sale in foal to Lord Nelson. The resulting filly, One Silk Stocking, placed third in the All Brandy Stakes in 2024 and earned $146,350. Keep Right's next Maryland-bred foal, Thundering's full-brother Pay Zone, is a $251,529-earner currently racing at Charles Town.

After producing the Maximus Mischief filly Rascallion in 2021 (she sold for $40,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic fall yearling sale), Keep Right went through the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic December sale, with Thundering in utero, and sold for $2,500 to Jal Dastur. Thundering is her last to foal in Maryland; Dastur foaled the mare in Kentucky twice before selling her for $90,000 at this year's Fasig-Tipton Kentucky February mixed sale in foal to Omaha Beach.

Thundering was the first of two Mosler stakes winners on Saturday, as his 4-year-old Virginia-bred son War Humor won the $125,000 Edward P. Evans Stakes a half-hour later at Colonial Downs.