Wolfburg

The breakthrough came at Wetherby on Boxing Day 2025, and jockey Craig Nicol put it plainly afterwards: Wolfburg had shown promise as a young horse, then fallen away. Wind surgery and the addition of cheekpieces helped, but it was the switch to chasing — jumping fences rather than hurdles — that really changed things. As Nicol noted, his jumping was very good that day, and once a horse finds confidence over fences, it can unlock everything. Thomson had been pointing towards this moment for a while, telling people back in January 2025 that Wolfburg would be "a cracking novice chaser" once the time came.

The form since has backed that up emphatically. His last six results read 7-1-3-2-1-1 in chronological order — a horse who went from an also-ran to back-to-back winner. His most recent victory came at Kelso just this week, and Thomson was ebullient afterwards, calling it "the best day of the season" and saying Wolfburg has been "a different horse since he's gone chasing." High praise, and it rings true.

One curiosity worth noting: Wolfburg has run seven times in Class 4 races — the bread-and-butter level of jump racing — and won none of them. All three of his career victories have come elsewhere, which suggests he may actually be better than the level he has often been entered at. Thomson's yard has sent out 18 winners this season, so there is clearly good form in the yard, and a horse finally running to his potential fits neatly into that picture. Regular jockey Ryan Mania has yet to get off the mark on him in five attempts together, which adds another small subplot — Wolfburg's wins have come with different riders in the saddle.