Dark Side Thunder

The ground is where everything starts with this one. On soft or muddy conditions, Dark Side Thunder has won 4 of just 8 races — that's 50%, which is extraordinary. Horses that genuinely thrive in the mud rather than merely tolerating it are worth their weight in gold on a rainy afternoon, and those numbers suggest this horse transforms on a wet surface in a way that makes it a completely different proposition from fair-weather days.

Then there's Kempton Park, where the record reads 3 wins from 5 races. That's not a coincidence — that's a course specialist. Some horses simply suit a track's layout, its bends, its surface, and Dark Side Thunder has found a home at Kempton in a way that makes every trip there worth noting. Paired with the right ground, it becomes a genuine threat.

The partnership with jockey Lewis Edmunds is one of the more striking numbers in the file. Together they have won 8 of 34 races — nearly 1 in every 4 — which is a meaningfully better rate than the horse's overall record. That kind of chemistry between horse and rider matters, particularly at the level where small edges decide races. Trainer Jessica Macey, based in Doncaster, has sent out 13 winners already this season, so the yard is clearly in good form even if Dark Side Thunder is currently mid-drought.

The last win came at Chelmsford in December 2025, now six months ago, and the recent run of finishes — eighth, ninth, ninth, second, fifth, third going back — shows a horse that has gone close without breaking through. That placed form at least confirms it isn't out of sorts, and with most of its wins coming at Class 5 level (six wins from 22 races, or more than 1 in 4), it competes where it can be competitive. Racing again just yesterday, Dark Side Thunder is clearly a horse in the thick of a busy campaign. Get the ground soft and point it at Kempton, and it becomes a different animal entirely.