Charging Thunder

What makes Charging Thunder interesting right now is that he is still actively racing and has found a sweet spot in recent months. He won at Stratford-on-Avon just last week on 19 July 2026, and before that his form reads reasonably: a second, a seventh, a fourth, an eleventh, a first, and a fourteenth in his last six races. That is not a horse in decline, but one who has rediscovered something—or perhaps found a level where he is competitive again. Trainer James Owen has been willing to step him down to less demanding company, and it appears to be working. Owen, who runs a strong yard from Newmarket with 205 winners already this season, has spoken about Charging Thunder with the kind of candour you hear from trainers who have a horse they genuinely like. He bought the horse on spec, sold him an hour before one race, and has schooled him over jumps. The plan, it seems, was always flexible—and that adaptability has kept Charging Thunder in work and in the winners' enclosure.

The horse runs best on normal ground, winning three of his nine races on standard conditions (33% win rate), a significant advantage over his overall record. He loves Stratford, where he has scored recently, and prefers to avoid the very soft or very firm ground that can expose his limitations. Daniel Tudhope has ridden him eleven times, winning twice, and Owen has hinted that Charging Thunder might yet make the jump to top-level racing, though that would require him to mature mentally and stop some of his more frustrating habits. For now, Charging Thunder remains a reliable campaigner in the middle distances—a horse worth following at his current level.