Stakes Double for Munnings

Munnings enjoyed a stakes double at the weekend with classy campaigner Om (6h Munnings x Rare Cat, by Tabasco Cat) cracking $1million in earnings with his victory in the $100,345 Grade III Thunder Road Stakes at Santa Anita while Chief Cicatriz (5g Munnings x Super Buggy, by Grand Slam) won the $75,000 Phoenix Gold Cup Handicap for the second year in a row.

Trained by Dan Hendricks, Om (pictured) returned to peak form in the Thunder Road Stakes, scoring his first win since the 2015 Grade II Mathis Brothers Mile.

He led throughout and kicked on strongly to win the one mile turf feature by half a length taking his overall record to six wins and 11 placings from 23 starts with prizemoney in excess of $1million.

“I was worried more at the half-mile pole than I was at the quarter-pole because he had gotten a little rank on Flavien [Prat] after he got him out there that quickly,” said Dan Hendricks.

“He opened up a bigger lead than you ever want to open up, but he got him to relax great down the backside, and when they started to come to him at the quarter pole, you could tell he had a lot left, so I felt more comfortable then than I did at the half-mile pole.”

The Grade I Frank E Kilroe Stakes is next on the agenda for Om on March 10.

A $125,000 2YO purchase after making $60,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, Om is the best of eight winners from Rare Cat.

Trained by Shawn Davis, Chief Cicatriz won the six furlong Phoenix Gold Cup Handicap by four and a half lengths and has now won seven of nine starts earning over $200,000 in prizemoney.

Chief Cicatriz is from Super Buggy, a half-sister to the dam of Grade I winner Suggestive Boy.