Florida Dreams

The peak of this horse's career came on 15 April 2023 at Aintree — one of the most famous racecourses in the world and the home of the Grand National — where Florida Dreams landed a Class 1 race, the highest level of competition in Britain. Jockey Danny McMenamin, who knows this horse better than anyone having ridden together in 14 races, summed up the performance afterwards: Florida Dreams was tough, had the speed for the distance but stayed well, and there was plenty to look forward to. That Aintree win remains the defining moment of the career.

McMenamin and Florida Dreams have built a genuine partnership. Of the 14 races they have contested together, they have won 4 — a win rate of 29%, or roughly 1 in every 3.5 races. That is a considerably better return than the horse's overall career average, which suggests the combination suits both horse and rider.

Trainer A M Thomson, based at Lambden in Berwickshire, has had a productive season with 18 winners from the yard. He has spoken openly about Florida Dreams being a horse that needs the conditions to be right — the trainer has noted that the horse likely wants better, drier ground rather than heavy winter going, and probably stays best over two and a half miles. Wet ground tells a slightly different story: 2 wins from 8 races on soft or muddy ground, a 25% win rate, offers some hope on the right day.

The puzzle at the moment is Class 2 — one level below those elite top-tier contests. In 10 races at that level, Florida Dreams has yet to win. Currently active and racing as recently as yesterday, the question is whether Thomson can find the right conditions to remind everyone what this horse showed at Aintree two years ago.