Petit Tonnerre

The highlight of his career so far came on 25 January 2025, when he landed one of the top races in Britain at Doncaster. Jockey Richie McLernon described it vividly afterwards: the pace was fast from the start, the field was stretched, and Petit Tonnerre was absolutely in his element. He jumped cleanly, refused to stop fighting, and stuck his neck out right to the line. That is not a horse stumbling into a big win — that is a horse built for precisely that kind of race. He followed it up with another win at Punchestown in May 2025, confirming this was no fluke.

His record at the top level tells its own story. He has run 11 times in Class 2 races — some of the most competitive in the country — and won once, which works out at roughly 1 in every 11 at that level. That sounds modest, but simply running consistently at that grade for an eight-year-old is a statement in itself. Plenty of horses spend their entire careers never troubling that kind of company. His most common partner in the saddle has been Jonjo O'Neill Jr, who has ridden him in 21 of his 27 races, winning once together — a ratio that reflects just how competitive the fields Petit Tonnerre tends to line up in.

He is trained by Jonjo O'Neill and A J O'Neill at their yard in Cheltenham, a team that has sent out 51 winners already this season — a serious operation by any measure. The trainer has spoken warmly about Petit Tonnerre's recent form, noting the Doncaster and Punchestown wins as highlights, and flagging that a comeback run at Ascot was disrupted when he was hampered late on. That setback aside, the yard sounds genuinely enthusiastic about what the horse can do next. His most recent race was just one day ago, so whatever comes next is very close indeed.