Amazonian Dream

The peak came two seasons ago, when Amazonian Dream put together a genuinely impressive campaign: four wins and three places in a single year. For a horse competing mostly at Class 4 level — the solid, unglamorous middle of the racing ladder — that kind of consistency is hard to achieve. The trouble is, when a horse runs that well, the handicapper takes notice and raises its rating, making future races harder. That is exactly what happened here, and last season was a quieter one as a result. It is one of the quirks of the sport: success can be its own punishment.

The good news is that the rating has now drifted back down to 75, which trainer Rod Millman — who operates out of a yard in Kentisbeare, Devon, that has sent out 42 winners this season — believes puts the horse in a fair position to win again. There are two highlights worth noting on the CV: a Class 2 win at Windsor in July 2024 and another Class 2 victory at Kempton Park in December 2024. Class 2 is near the top of the British racing pyramid, so picking up wins at that level tells you this horse can genuinely compete when things fall right.

The last six runs read 5-3-10-2-3-8, which means a mix of near-misses and quieter efforts — no wins, but not a horse that has stopped trying. Jockey Lewis Edmunds has ridden Amazonian Dream 16 times and won twice together, a win rate of around 1 in 8, which is a decent working partnership at this level. Millman also flags that the horse can be a little awkward at the start, something worth knowing — a fractious moment in the stalls can cost a race before it has even begun.

At seven years old and with a friendlier handicap mark, Amazonian Dream is not finished. It raced just one day ago and is clearly still in serious training. The question is whether it can recapture even a fraction of that brilliant two-season-ago form — and on current evidence, the team clearly thinks it can.