Thunderous Love

The numbers that stand out most are the ones tied to conditions. On fast, dry ground, Thunderous Love has won 4 of her 9 races — that is 44%, nearly one in every two starts, which is a remarkable return. It tells you she is not just a decent horse; she is a horse with a very clear preference, and when those conditions line up, she becomes genuinely hard to beat. She has also shown a fondness for Nottingham specifically, winning 2 of her 4 races there. For context, most horses race at a course many times before they win there even once.

Her regular partner in the saddle is Rob Hornby, who has ridden her in 14 of her 26 races and won 3 of them together — roughly 1 in every 5. That kind of ongoing partnership matters: the jockey learns where the horse travels best in a race, when to push and when to wait.

The Portman yard is having a fine season, with 46 winners sent out so far, and the trainer's recent comments give a useful window into where Thunderous Love is right now. Her last run — a fifth-place finish at Pontefract — looks worse on paper than it was in reality. She was left in the stalls far too long before the race began, which put her immediately on the back foot and effectively ended her chance before a stride had been run. Portman was quick to draw a line through it. The more interesting observation is that her recent success has created a genuine headache: she has been so good this season that finding suitable races for her has become difficult. That is the kind of problem a trainer is happy to have, but it is still a problem. A race at Goodwood is reportedly on the agenda, and on a good day and fast ground, she would be far from easy to dismiss.