William Haggas will check the water at Group-race level before the season is out with More Thunder following his narrow success in the bet365 Bunbury Cup at Newmarket.
The winner of two valuable six-furlong handicaps on the Rowley Mile in the spring, the four-year-old was beaten a head by Get It when bidding for his hat-trick in the Wokingham at Royal Ascot last month.
More Thunder was a 6-5 preferred to return on the winning trail in this ₤ 100,000 contest and having been dropped out last by Tom Marquand early on, he was angled towards the stands' rail to install his obstacle and quickened up wisely to challenge for the lead.
More Thunder gets up on the line to land the @bet365 Bunbury Cup pic.twitter.com/KcjDydcCPF
In 2015's winner Aalto, a 40-1 shot to successfully safeguard his crown, bounced back from an uninspiring run of type to make a real race of it inside the last of seven furlongs and the pair flashed by the post practically as one, but it was More Thunder who had his head down where it mattered, with the judge verifying him the winner by a nose.
Haggas said: "I require to view it once again, however for me they didn't go fast at all and he struggled to get momentum. I think he's better going quickly and Tom was available in and stated 'if you run him over this trip once again, they require to go hard'. Six furlongs, he feels, is his best journey."
More Thunder holds big-race entries in significant handicaps and Pattern races and it is clear his trainer is keen to see him contend in Group One company at some phase.
William Haggas at Newmarket on Saturday (Joe Giddens/PA)
When asked if he had actually believed about running in the July Cup later in the afternoon, Haggas added: "We considered it highly, but we likewise wished to increase to 7 furlongs at some stage and this was an opportunity to do so.
"That is why he came here, however we will at a six-furlong stakes race. He simply needs speed this horse, but in six-furlong Group races, you'll see in the July Cup, they don't go slow!
"He could run in another handicap, but I think he should have a shot at a great race now."