Thundering On storms from last to win Betfred Oaks at Epsom

Thundering On turned the Betfred Oaks into a procession at Epsom, sweeping from last to first to beat Legacy Link by 3 3/4 lengths and announce herself as much more than a promising filly. Dylan Browne McMonagle, 23 and already Ireland’s champion jockey, made the decisive move in the straight and the race was over almost as soon as Thundering On was asked to quicken.

The 1m 4f 6y Oaks, run on good to soft ground, had looked deep beforehand with nine runners and a strong favorite in Aidan O’Brien’s Amelia Earhart, who was chasing a 12th Oaks victory. But Thundering On, sent off at 5/1 for Shapoor Mistry, made the Classic look easy. She stopped the clock in 2:39.64, 4.04 seconds slow, then put daylight between herself and the field while Legacy Link held second, Sugar Island was third at 25/1 and A La Prochaine finished fourth at 20/1.

McMonagle said the performance felt “effortless,” and that was exactly the impression left by a filly who never seemed to be under real pressure once the stamina test became a turn-of-foot contest. “As impressive as any horse you’ll see,” he said of the daughter of Frankel, whose rise has been rapid enough to reshape her profile in a matter of weeks.

That arc matters. Thundering On had only broken her maiden the previous month, when she won the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Salsabil Stakes at Navan on April 25 by 3 1/4 lengths over 1m 2f 40y in Group 3 company. The step up to Epsom was the main question mark, especially with Joseph O’Brien noting that her dam, Thundering Nights, did not stay beyond 10 furlongs. Instead, Thundering On settled, conserved energy on the climb and came alive when the race began in earnest.

Joseph O’Brien said the filly could head to the Pretty Polly or the Irish Oaks next and added that “the world is her oyster.” John Gosden, trainer of runner-up Legacy Link, acknowledged that the winner arrived with a big reputation after her Navan success, but at Epsom that reputation was upgraded into something far more serious.

The winner’s purse was £354,438, but the larger prize was status. In a race that was supposed to test the best fillies in training, Thundering On made the Classics look simple and, in doing so, stamped herself as one of the leading names in the division.