Thunderbear

The career started with a win at Fairyhouse in September 2022, and Davison's team has kept the horse competitive ever since. The yard is in decent form this season, sending out 8 winners, and Thunderbear raced just one day ago, so this is a horse very much in the thick of things. The most recent win came at Naas in October 2025, around seven months back, which means the winning thread is still live — this isn't a horse coasting on past glories.

The regular partnership with jockey Ronan Whelan tells an interesting story. Whelan has ridden Thunderbear in 10 races and produced 1 win together — 10%, or roughly 1 in every 10 rides. That is a working relationship rather than a celebrated one, though it is worth noting that Thunderbear's Class 1 victory at Newbury came without Whelan aboard, suggesting the horse has shown its best to more than one jockey. The one area that stands out as a genuine puzzle is the record at Class 2 level — 0 wins from 4 races. For a horse that has beaten the very best in a Class 1, being unable to win at one level below it is the kind of quirk that keeps racing interesting and keeps trainers thinking.

Recent form reads 11-6-1-5-blank-3, with that 1 being the Naas win. The blank in the sequence — a race with no recorded finish position — and a couple of mid-pack efforts suggest some inconsistency, but the horse is clearly still running well enough to be placed regularly. Twelve career places from 34 races means Thunderbear hits the frame more often than not. For a horse that once beat the best around at Newbury, there may well be another big day waiting.