Northern Empire

The journey since that Lingfield triumph seven months ago has been bumpy. His recent form reads 3-5-12-8-14-1, and when Walker ran him over 6 furlongs at Newcastle in April, the horse was simply outpaced from distance—a reminder that you cannot shorten a horse's trip and expect the same result. The trainer was candid about the mistake: he had asked too much of Northern Empire in a sprint against better-class sprinters, and the plan now is to step back up to 7 furlongs or even a mile where the horse's strengths come to the fore. That is not the thinking of a trainer giving up on a horse; it is the thinking of someone who has learned exactly what he needs to do next. Walker's Upper Lambourn yard has sent out 76 winners this season, so there is plenty of form and horsepower around the place, which means when the trainer makes a decision about a horse's future, it tends to be an informed one.