Aimeric

When it does win, it tends to win well. Both of its most recent victories came in Class 2 races — one of the top two tiers in Britain — at Beverley in September 2023 and then at Lingfield Park in May 2024. That last win, over 26 months ago now, is worth understanding properly. Jockey James Doyle had to think carefully about how he rode the race, knowing that Lingfield's downhill finish can pull horses into the lead before they're ready. Doyle kept Aimeric patient, hit the front at the right moment, and it worked. "The quicker the better for him," Doyle said afterwards, and that tells you a lot — Aimeric is a horse built for dry, fast summer conditions and it simply doesn't function in the wet. On normal ground it has won 4 of 12 races, a 33% win rate — one in every three starts. That is a genuinely strong number for any horse at this level.

The ground sensitivity is the central story here. Jockey Jack Mitchell, who has won 3 of his 6 rides on Aimeric — a remarkable 50% together — explained it vividly after the Beverley win. A promising run at Ascot was ruined when he got trapped on the rail. A trip to Newmarket was wrecked by a thunderstorm that turned the ground soft. "He's a good mover," Mitchell said. "He likes top-of-the-ground." Trainer Jennie Candlish, who operates a busy yard in Staffordshire and has sent out 64 winners this season alone, has always been clear about placing him carefully for that reason.

Aimeric hasn't won in his last six races and hasn't tasted victory since May last year. But he raced just yesterday and is clearly still in training. For a horse this reliant on summer conditions, the question is simple: does the sun come out and stay out? When it does, Aimeric has a track record that suggests the wait for win number six might not be long.