Imperial Saint

The Aintree record alone is worth pausing on. Three wins from just 5 races at the same course is extraordinary — that is a 60% win rate at a track where most horses never win at all. Aintree hosts the Grand National meeting, one of the most famous events in world sport, and a horse that treats it like a home track is rare. Add a Class 1 victory at Haydock on 17 January 2026 — one of the top races in Britain — and you have a horse that genuinely performs on the biggest stage. The Class 2 win at Aintree on Boxing Day 2024 only added to that story.

The partnership with jockey Micheal Nolan is another thread worth pulling. In 12 races together, they have won 5 times — that is winning nearly 1 in every 2 races as a pair, a quite remarkable figure. Some jockey-horse combinations just click, and this one clearly does. Trained by the experienced yard of Philip Hobbs and Johnson White down in Bilbrook, Somerset — a team that has sent out 37 winners already this season — Imperial Saint is in good hands, and the operation clearly knows how to place him well.

The conditions matter too. On normal ground and over distances between a mile and six furlongs and two miles, Imperial Saint has won all three races he has contested — a perfect record in those conditions. That kind of precision tells you the team has worked out exactly what this horse needs to produce his best.

Recent form reads 8-8-1-6-5-2, meaning two rough patches bookending a win, which is worth watching. He raced just 19 days ago and remains active, so whatever comes next, this is a horse at the peak of his career — proven at the highest level and with every reason to add to his tally.