Aimeric

The numbers tell that story clearly. On normal or firmer ground, Aimeric has won 4 of 10 races — a 40% win rate that is frankly excellent at this level. On anything softer, those wins disappear almost entirely. Jockey James Doyle put it plainly after the Lingfield win in May 2024 — one of the top races in Britain — when he said the quicker the better, full stop. Jack Mitchell, who has partnered Aimeric to 3 wins from just 6 rides together (winning half their races as a duo, which is a remarkable record), said much the same after the Beverley win in September 2023: "He's a good mover. He likes top-of-the-ground." A thunderstorm at Newmarket once cost him a serious chance. That is the kind of horse Aimeric is — brilliant when conditions suit, vulnerable when they don't.

What gives Aimeric genuine interest as a story is the gap between his record at the top level and everything below it. He has run eight times in Class 1 company — the very best races in Britain — and won none of them. Yet drop him into a Class 2 race on a sunny June afternoon and he has shown he can beat good horses. Trainer Jennie Candlish, who runs a yard that has fired out 61 winners this season alone, has been careful and deliberate in placing him. She said in April 2024 that she wasn't sure how much more improvement was in him, but that she hoped to find a race or two in the summer — and a month later, Lingfield delivered exactly that.

He has not won in his last six races, and his most recent run was just yesterday. A 24-month gap since his last win is worth noting. But Aimeric has always been the kind of horse that makes you wait — then reminds you why you bothered.