Imperial Trooper

That sole career victory came at Ffos Las in Wales back in August 2024, and it remains the one time Imperial Trooper has genuinely put everything together. The problem is that was nearly two years ago. Since then, the horse has gone six races without winning, and recent form reads 6-15-3-3-6-2 — a mixture of near-misses and quiet afternoons. The second place is encouraging, the 15th is less so. There are glimmers in there, but no breakthrough.

The distance at which Imperial Trooper shows up best is seven furlongs to a mile — that's the horse's sweet spot on paper, producing its only win from 8 attempts at those trips, a 12% win rate. That's actually not a bad ratio compared to its overall record, and it tells you that when conditions suit, the horse is competitive. The trouble is at the level it typically competes — Class 4, which is solid mid-tier racing in Britain — Imperial Trooper has drawn a blank across 8 races. Zero wins from eight attempts at that level. That's the puzzle the team around this horse has been trying to solve.

The trainer is Jennie Candlish, based in Basford, Staffordshire, and hers is a yard in decent form — 61 winners sent out this season, which is a strong total and suggests the operation knows how to place horses to win. The regular jockey is George Downing, who has ridden Imperial Trooper six times together for that one victory, a win rate of roughly 1 in 6 when partnered. That's actually the best win rate of any regular combination this horse has had.

Imperial Trooper raced just yesterday, so this is very much a horse in active campaigning. The team clearly believes there's another win in there somewhere. Whether that comes by dropping in grade, finding softer opposition, or finally clicking at that favourite distance again remains to be seen — but with 61 winners already on the board this season, Jennie Candlish knows how to find the right race when the time comes.