Amazonian Dream

Two years ago, Amazonian Dream had a stellar run: four wins and three places from seven races. Then last season, something went wrong. His trainer Rod Millman, who operates his yard in Devon, puts it bluntly: he was disappointing. That's the way handicap racing punishes success — the better a horse runs, the higher weight it gets asked to carry next time out. So Amazonian Dream suffered the classic trap of older handicappers: he was penalised for earlier form he couldn't replicate. But it creates an opportunity. The handicapper has now dropped him to a rating of 75, which Millman believes gives him genuine winning chances again.

His recent form shows flashes of recovery. A second place four races ago, then a win at Windsor in July — a Class 2 race, which counts among the top races in British racing. Most recently, he won at Kempton on the artificial surface just a day ago. That's significant: he's currently active and in form, just off the track. Lewis Edmunds, his most frequent jockey, has steered him to victory twice in seventeen rides together. At Class 4 level, where he typically races, he's won 2 from 23 — a 9% win rate in that grade, suggesting he's borderline for the level but capable of breaking through. He's a quirky character at the start gates, something Millman has noted, but the good news is simple: he's back in the groove, and his trainer believes he's well placed to win more.