Thunder Rock

That Class 1 victory came at Carlisle in November 2023, and it sits at the heart of what makes Thunder Rock interesting. He had already shown he belonged in serious races with a Class 2 win at Huntingdon in February 2022, just a few months after getting off the mark for the first time at Wetherby in November 2021. So within the space of about two years, he went from a first-time winner to a top-level scorer — a tidy progression for any racehorse.

The ground matters enormously with Thunder Rock. On slightly soft, wet conditions, he has won 4 of just 8 races — a 50% win rate that is remarkable by any standard. Half the time he races in those conditions, he wins. It tells you that his trainer Olly Murphy, based at Wilmcote in Warwickshire, will be watching the weather forecasts closely whenever this horse is due to run. Murphy's yard has been in fine form this season, sending out 144 winners, so Thunder Rock is part of a genuinely productive operation.

The other key figure here is jockey A P Heskin, who has partnered Thunder Rock 13 times and ridden him to 6 of his 8 career wins — a staggering win rate of 46%, nearly 1 in every 2 rides together. That kind of partnership is rare and speaks to a real understanding between horse and rider.

Most encouragingly of all, Thunder Rock won at Kempton Park just six days ago, which means he is in form right now. His recent runs read 1, unplaced, 2, unplaced, 7, 4 — patchy in places, but with a winner and a second in there. At ten years old and still winning races, he is proof that some horses simply refuse to slow down.